Reported Liverpool target Javi Martinez has suggested he
would welcome the chance to join the club.
The Athletic Bilbao midfielder, 20, has been touted as a
potential long-term replacement for Xabi Alonso and reports claim
Rafa Benitez is ready to make a move.
And while the player’s mother claimed in a recent interview with
El Correo Digital that there was nothing in the rumours, the
Spain Under-21 international has now hinted he would relish the
chance to move to Anfield.
“Any player would want to be part of such a good squad,” he said
in the Daily Mirror.
However, the player has a contract until 2014 with a release
clause of €30m (£26.1m) until 2011 and €36m (£31.4m) from 2011 to
2014, and Canal Athletic quotes sources as saying Bilbao are
refusing to sell for anything less.
Club president Fernando Garcia Macua has also played down
speculation Martinez could leave Estadio San Mames.
He told ETB: "We don't want to sell anyone who is part of the
spine of the team."
Fiorentina have also been linked with Martinez.