Barcelona close in on signing of Athletic defender Iñigo Martinez
The Spain international is available for free at the end of the season
Íñigo Martínez could be one of Barcelona's first signings for the next sports project. The Blaugrana have been talking to those around him for months and they tried to sign him last summer by offering a small transfer fee to Athletic Bilbao, which was not accepted.
The center-back would arrive this year as a free agent and given the apparent inaction of the Basque club, who have not yet made much effort to try to convince him to stay.
Martínez's camp does not give much away, but do reveal there has been no formal offer from Athletic to renew his contract, which expires in June.
The signing of Martínez is very attractive to Barça. He knows LaLiga well, is left-footed and, furthermore, the departure of Gerard Piqué opens the door for another defender.
There is the conviction at Barça that the operation will be carried out unless there are any financial fair play limits to deal with in the summer transfer window.
Martínez is a real market opportunity and he is grateful for the interest shown by Barça in recent years. It would be the third attempt to sign him and it seems that in six months it could finally happen.
