As Lazio and West Ham work to complete a deal for Felipe Anderson to leave the Italian capital and move to the English capital, the search for a suitable replacement continues. Alongside the likes of Matteo Politano and Papu Gomez, a new name has been mentioned. CittaCeleste are now reporting that Lazio could be working on a deal for Gelson Martins, the 23-year-old Portuguese winger who recently requested for his contract with Sporting Lisbon to be terminated.
Martins, alongside teammates William Carvalho, Rui Patricio, Bas Dost and Bruno Fernandes, asked for his contract to be terminated after an incident in May saw a group of ultras invade Sporting’s training centre; assaulting players and staff.
With the winger available on a free, the only real obstacle for Lazio is the other clubs interested. Arsenal have been reportedly interested in Martins’ signature and Lazio will have to hope they can offer more regular game-time as leverage over the North London side in negotiations.
In 31 Liga NOS appearances in 17/18, Gelson Martins scored eight and assisted eight; playing primarily as a right-winger. However, Martins is versatile and appeared at right-midfield, central attack midfield and even as a striker. Martins would therefore be a suitable replacement for Felipe Anderson in Simone Inzaghi’s current system.
