Midfielder learning English ahead of officially joining Liverpool after rejecting Man Utd
Liverpool and Manchester United have made a habit of mopping up young talent in recent years, recruiting teenage prospects from around the globe long before they’re household names.
It’s a model popularised by the likes of Brighton, who built an entire recruitment philosophy on identifying rough diamonds years ahead of the pack before selling them on for profit – see United’s recent move for Carlos Baleba for evidence of that strategy in action.
Now the Premier League’s biggest clubs are trying to skip the middle man altogether, sending their scouts out to find these players themselves rather than paying inflated fees further down the line.
Liverpool have been particularly busy this summer on that front, having already brought in Djylian N’Guessan and Lucca Brughmans, while United have gone shopping for youngsters of their own over the last 18 months, snapping up the likes of Enzo Kana-Biyik, Sekou Kone and Diego Leon.
Man Utd and Liverpool go head-to-head for midfielder
It’s now been confimed the two rivals also went head-to-head over another highly-rated teenager – this time a Colombian attacking midfielder who ultimately chose Anfield over Old Trafford.
Samuel Martinez agreed to join Liverpool from Atletico Nacional back in July, with the 17-year-old unable to complete the move to Merseyside until he turns 18 next April. But before he settled on the Reds, a host of major clubs were reportedly in the race for his signature.
His father, Jairo Martinez, has now revealed just how many admirers his son had before Liverpool won out, name-checking some huge clubs across Europe (via Sport Witness).
“Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Barcelona, Watford, Udinese, Chelsea, Manchester United, among others, all wanted him.”
His mother also revealed that interest stretched well beyond Europe’s traditional heavyweights and turned their lives upside down for weeks on end. She described the scale of interest as barely believable, with roughly 30 clubs from across the world making contact and the family fielding calls at all hours, but said the teenager’s choice was ultimately his own.
“We had conversations with everyone, but Samuel made the decision. We can say whatever he wants, but we rely on what he wants, what he decides, what he feels comfortable with. And he felt a connection to go to Liverpool.”
With the move not becoming official on the pitch until next summer, Martinez is already putting the groundwork in off it – and English isn’t as foreign to him as his Colombian background might suggest.
According to his father, Samuel actually has a head start thanks to time spent living in the United States as a child, where he went through several years of schooling and picked up a strong grasp of the language early on. He’s now building on that foundation by hiring a personal tutor, working daily in the hope of mastering English fluently before he arrives at Anfield next summer.
It’s another marker of just how seriously the teenager – who was seemingly sought after by half the teams in Europe – is taking his move to Merseyside, and Reds fans will hope they have their own Brighton-esque gem brewing.
