Would you pay £24m for a striker if you thought he was guaranteed to bang in goals in the Premiership? Or more to the point would Arsene Wenger splash out that amount of money if he thought that this man could be the missing part of the jigsaw that won him the Premiership title?
Well SOMEONE has already agreed to pay that price for Jackson Martinez and it could very well be Arsenal, but the agent has refused to disclose the club in question. “Jackson’s future is already pretty much decided,” agent Luiz Henrique Pompeo told the Portugese press. “Things should be clarified in the next few days. He’ll go to a big European club, which will be announced as soon as the contract is signed.
“From what’s been agreed, Porto will receive the €35m (£24m) from the release clause.
“Negotiations have been underway for a few weeks, there are still some details to be sorted out, and then Jackson Martinez’s departure from Porto can become a reality.”
There are a couple of reasons that I hope point to Arsenal being the buyers. First off all the fact that the agent did not mention any club. It is a well-known fact that Wenger hates anyone publicising a transfer to Arsenal before it is totally signed and sealed.
Secondly I would draw your attention to what Wenger said about Martinez back in February: “He has top physical strengths. Hugely efficient, he is the kind of player who can make room for himself in the box.
“He could play in the Premier League because he has the body to make the difference. He uses it in a very intelligent way. Very short back lift and he’s a very good finisher.’
“He’s on the list of many clubs, you know that. He will be the next big transfer who will give a big smile to Pinto da Costa [Porto’s owner].”
That is high praise indeed from Le Prof, and surely he must think that £24m is a very good price for a goalscorer of that stature. We all know Giroud needs some serious competition up front, and unless Wenger is certain that the injury-prone Theo Walcott is capable of doing the job, then L Boss MUST be looking at viable alternatives.
Who else is hoping this is true?