Everyone accepts that one of Barcelona’s main needs this
summer is a central defender. With Carles Puyol battered and ageing (though he
should make a full recovery) and Gerard Pique’s attitude questioned at the end
of the season, the team was forced into a make-shift defense for key matches
and the results were not pretty.
A prime candidate is Javi Martinez – effusively
praised in a recent piece from Graham Hunter. Martinez has demonstrated his
quality with big-time performances against Spain’s top teams and, of course,
Manchester United. A relentless tackler and ball-chaser who can also pass his
way out of the back, he is also a perfect fit for Barcelona’s style. The best
part is he can play as a midfielder or defender. This would give Barcelona two
players – in Martinez and Javier Mascherano – that are flexible enough to shift
between and during games. Mascherano is probably better as a midfielder,
Martinez as a defender.
The sums being discussed for the 23-year old are already
eye-popping. It would be hard to prise him away from Bilbao for anything less
than €25mn. But Barcelona would be wise to act soon. Since Puyol is unavailable
for the Euro, Martinez will start for Spain. A good run there and his value will
almost certainly increase – perhaps to €40mn, which seems like a silly price to
pay for a central defender.
The kicker is that if things do not go well for Martinez at
the Euro Championships, his value will not drop. His body of work is impossible
to refute. Therefore, buyers would do well to close the deal before the
tournament. It's a simple game theory argument.
Martinez may ultimately not be available for any price.
Don’t rule out a pact between him, Iker Muniain, and Fernando Llorente to stay
at Bilbao for another couple years and try to build a winner. For all the
players who have grabbed at the first big check someone waved in their face (I
know you are reading, Sergio Canales), there are so many who have benefited
from waiting. Fernando Torres, Kun Aguero, David Villa, and David Silva all waited
a couple years before making their move to an upper-upper-echelon team.
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