As the Premier league season drew to an end yesterday it must be time for the transfer window. Often known as ‘silly season’ the rumours will keep on coming and means there will be plenty of reporting.

The news this hour concerns the Porto striker Jackson Martinez.  It is the information of Kike Marin that Arsenal have decided to sign Martinez with Porto replacing him with Alberto Bueno. Kike is well known within Spanish football and is reliable.  Just to add bit more substance to the news Kike was the first to report the Alexis deal last summer.

Kike tweeted the following “@Arsenal Alberto Bueno goes to Porto... and Jackson Martinez goes to #Arsenal? The reports are very good. Wenger decided...”

Although, these reports are yet to be confirmed by either club this news has been doing the rounds in Portugal a couple of days ago and now some of English media outlets are reporting the news to.

The Stats

If the deal is to go ahead what are Arsenal signing? Martinez has been prolific in Portugal for the last three years scoring goals for fun which has been followed by a good goal scoring record in the champion’s league.  Martinez has scored 67 goals in 89 games. This season he has scored 32 goals alongside scoring 8 in 10 games in the champion’s league.

Martinez is a powerful centre forward who has an eye for goals and has pace to trouble defenders. On the face of this news Martinez looks the perfect signing for Arsenal. At the age of 28 he should be in his best years. Additionally, he has the desired attributes to be a success in the premier league with pace and power and would fit into the Arsenal team well.  

The Verdict

However, we must be cautious when talking about the deal due to numerous reasons. The first is that the deal is not done at the moment and is mere speculation. We will not believe the story until an official line from either club is issued.  

Second, Martinez has a good goal scoring record in Portugal which is not the greatest league in the world. Although, his champions league record can give you an indication of how good a player is.

If we assume the deal will go ahead then I believe that Martinez would be a very good signing and would show a statement of intent especially when you consider clubs such as Manchester United have been tracking his progress.

Also, if the reports are to be believed that his release clause is £24.8 million then it would also look a good deal for value of money. Although, I believe it would be a gamble mainly because he plays in Portugal, you have to consider what other alternatives are available.

The answer to that is not many therefore; if a deal like this is presented to Arsenal then you must take the opportunity to sign him.