Liverpool have been encouraged to sign Gabriel Martinelli, with Arsenal yet to extend the winger's contract. The 21-year-old has quickly become heavily linked with an exit from the Gunners having entered the final two-years of his deal at the Emirates Stadium.
football.london understand that the north Londoners have the option to extend Martinelli's tenure by a further two years, keeping him at London Colney until 2026. But, with an agreement yet to be reached, a handful of Premier League sides have registered an interest in the Brazilian amid growing uncertainty over his future, according to the Daily Mail.
And, with Jurgen Klopp a public supporter of Martinelli, Liverpool have been told to sign the winger by former England international Emile Heskey. Speaking to Ladbrokes, as quoted by CaughtOffside, the former Reds striker insisted that the youngster should be a primary target for the Merseyside club, though admitted that it could be difficult to find an agreement with Arsenal.
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"I can’t see Arsenal letting Gabriel Martinelli go any time soon," Heskey said. "But he’d definitely be someone I would be looking at if I was Liverpool. If you look at that aggression in his game, and the way he’s played so far this season, there aren’t many out there with his ability. He’s up and down the pitch, non-stop, for 90 minutes. He’s got the ability to drive at players, pull them in and out of positions.
"He’s confident and comfortable on the ball to a point where, as a defender, you aren’t quite sure whether he’s going to have a shot, put a cross in or take you on. He’s a fantastic player, and someone who everyone would love to play with and hate to play against. He gives you no time whatsoever.
"There was a time in the game on Sunday where Joel Matip was dealing with a ball in the air, it looked like he had complete control, and then out of nowhere Martinelli comes in, closes him down and took the ball off him. He got his body in the way, and he’s a strong lad these days, so once he’s in that position, he’s hard to beat. That was from something which wasn’t even a 50:50 ball; it was more a 70:30 ball in Matip’s favour. Players like that, you’re always going to want in your team."
Klopp once labelled the £61million-rated youngster as the 'talent of the century'. After a 10-goal frenzy in the Carabao Cup three years ago, the German boss said: "Martinelli’s pretty much the same age [as Liverpool defender Sepp Van De Berg] but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult. It was not in this game only. I watch a lot of football, so I saw the Europa League games of Arsenal.
"He’s 18 years old, right? So our scouting department is all over the world and stuff like this, but I think Edu gets all the credit for that signing – he came from… wherever. He’s really unbelievable.
"So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. Yeah, he looks like a really decent player. I didn’t want to put any backpack [pressure] on his back with this thing [his earlier remarks] but I just really like good football players and obviously he’s a very good one."
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