Everton are among several clubs in the hunt to sign River Plate playmaker Gonzalo Martinez, according to Calcio Mercato.
The Italian news outlet claims that Lazio, Southampton and Tottenham are also interested in signing the 25-year-old Argentine, who has an Italian passport which means that there should be no issue when it comes to gaining a work permit if he was to move to Europe.
Martinez’s agent Marcelo Simonian is said to have jetted into the UK recently amid interest from the Premier League and elsewhere.
Calcio Mercato adds that the attacker, who can play as a No 10 or on the left wing, has a £13.2million release clause in his deal at River Plate.
Good move for Everton?
Martinez looks like a very good player judging by his stats in the last couple of years at River Plate.
Last season, he scored seven goals and supplied four assists in 25 appearances across all competitions, while the campaign before that he scored seven and set up eight in 39 total games.
That level of consistency is what Everton need, but what they do not need is another attacking midfielder who is too similar to what Marco Silva has already inherited at Goodison Park.
Even though £13.2million is a relatively cheap sum for a Premier League club to spend, Silva should avoid him for now and focus more on his defence and strikeforce.
This is Futbol rating 5/10
Likely to happen?
Martinez’s agent has been doing the rounds in Europe, but given the fact that he may have Italian heritage, suggests that a move to Italy to play for Lazio would be more on the cards for the River Plate ace.
Tottenham could appeal given they are managed by Mauricio Pochettino, but they look as though they have their heart set on signing Jack Grealish, who is a similar player to Martinez.
This is Futbol rating 2/10