Barcelona Transfer: Inigo Martinez transfer – Barcelona are open for business for their summer transfer window as they are ready to welcome Athletic Club defender Inigo Martinez to their team. The left-footed centre-back could give Xavi the solution he’s been searching for in his right-back problems. Additionally, they are getting the player on a free transfer which will help in keeping their feet on the right side of the Financial Fair Play. Follow La Liga LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Inigo Martinez’s deal with Athletic Club was due to expire at the end of the season in June. As per a Spanish journalist, Sergio Santos, the centre-back has already signed a two-year deal with Barcelona. Hence, he is moving on a free transfer. Apparently, he has even passed the medical test with the club at some time in the past month.
Barcelona are yet to come out of their financial issues. Additionally, this news is coming ahead of Barcelona’s efforts to move around some money to bring back Lionel Messi. On top of that, the inclusion of Martinez can become an issue. Barcelona now will have to sell some of their players, or it will be interesting to see how they manage this transfer.
However, his move as a free agent does help Barcelona a little. Adding to that, Barcelona coach Xavi has been struggling for options in the past season in the right-back position. The only player in the team who can dedicatedly play as a right-back is Sergi Roberto. However, he plays in multiple positions and many times, he is called up to different positions.
Xavi has been using Marcos Alonso on the right side when he is actually a left-back player. Martinez is a left-footed centre-back, so whether in a three-back or a four-back defense line, he will be able to play on the right-hand side with ease without much problem. The 31-year-old also has enough experience and leadership qualities that will help Xavi.
🚨🚨✅| CONFIRMED: Iñigo Martinez is a FC Barcelona player! He will join the club for free, until 2025. It’s done!@relevo [🎖️] pic.twitter.com/7VVMditvM2
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) April 13, 2023
This season, Martinez has appeared for Athletic Club on 13 occasions. During this time, he has scored once and managed to keep three clean sheets. His experience has made him brilliant in defense. The player is perfectly reliable in securing the ball and has a passing accuracy of more than 80% on average.
In addition, his stats depict how good he has been as he averages on a per-game basis – 3.5 clearances, 1.4 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, and 4 duels won. He can easily be able to give the necessary backup to Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Ronald Araujo. However, Barcelona could also sell one of their centre-backs in order to strengthen the club financially.
