Agent said Everton wanted £8m ace, now he opens door to 'dream' Toffees or West Ham switch
Yesterday at 11:45 AM
With Everton interested and West Ham United linked, the transfer-linked midfielder will turn plenty of heads when opening up on his Premier League dream.
The question is, however, whether the ship has sailed. Will he go boating by the Thames up to the London Stadium, or drop anchor in Bramley Moor docks?
On paper, neither Everton nor West Ham are in any particular need of a midfielder. The Toffees signed Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa over the summer, after all. Everton snapped up Orel Mangala on a loan-to-buy deal from Lyon too.
West Ham, meanwhile, brought in Guido Rodriguez to provide competition at the base of Julen Lopetegui’s midfield.
Though, delve a little deeper, and there appears to be little reason to write of Emiliano Martinez’s hopes of following in his namesakes footsteps in English football.
Everton, regardless of Ireogbunam’s potential and the power they hold to make Mangala’s deal permanent, will soon have to consider replacements for Abdoulaye Doucoure and Idrissa Gana Gueye.
And if a couple of dismal defeats is anything to go by – Julen Lopetegui is under pressure at West Ham United already, TBR understands – neither Rodriguez nor the equally snail-paced Edson Alvarez appear to be the long-term solution to Julen Lopetegui’s engine room issues.
So Martinez, a Uruguay international who plies his trade in Denmark for FC Midtjylland, can be forgiven for keeping the dream alive.
Emiliano Martinez opens door to Everton and West Ham United
“My goal is to achieve as much as possible here at FC Midtjylland,” 25-year-old Martinez tells reporters. “To get into the Europa League, to progress, and to become a champion.
“I have [also] always dreamed of the Premier League. It is a goal I have had since I was a child and which I would like to achieve at some point.”
This is no pipe dream, either.
Martinez’s agent, Mauricio Machado, told Sport890 in May that Everton had come knocking.
That was before The Toffees swooped for Mangala and Iroegbunam; the latter arriving in exchange for Aston Villa’s Lewis Dobbin in a deal which helped ease both club’s Profit and Sustainability Concerns.
But Martinez would be another potentially low-cost, high-reward addition, however. Tipsbladet believe that Midtjylland would be looking for a fee in the region of £8 million.
Agent has already confirmed Everton’s interest in Uruguay ace
"Everton, in England, were interested in Emiliano Martinez a while ago, and now they are interested again. He could be a good option," Machado said, albeit the prediction he would make in that very same conversation proving to be a little wide of the mark.
"In June, he leaves Denmark. We have teams interested in the Premier League and in Spain."
Machado might have been wrong about a summer exit.
But with his client making a strong start to the Europa League campaign – Martinez completed three tackles as Midtyjlland claimed a credible 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim on the first matchday – the four-time Uruguay international may be well placed to enter the conversation should Everton look to replace Gueye or if West Ham decide that the under-fire Rodriguez is not up to the speed of the Premier League.
