Arsenal have been keeping an eye on teenage Real Sociedad centre-back Jon Martin in recent months, according to a report.
Simon Jones reports for the Daily Mail that in addition to their pursuit of Piero Hincapie of Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal have also been following Real Sociedad defender Jon Martin.
With Jakub Kiwior seemingly on the way out to FC Porto, Arsenal are scouring the market for replacements, and Hincapie is certainly leading the race.
But if the Gunners can’t agree a fee with Bayer Leverkusen, perhaps they could pivot to an alternative before Monday’s transfer deadline.
19-year-old Martin appears to be one of those alternative options. The 6ft 2 teenager is a regular for the Spain u19s, making his debut in October 2024 and featuring throughout the u19 Euros this summer.
Spain made it all the way to the final of the competition, and Martin started all five games.
The centre-back also played 90 minutes for Real Sociedad’s first team in their league game against Espanyol at the weekend, bringing his total senior appearances for the side to 19.
In that one appearance against Espanyol, Martin won a huge 10 aerial duels. Only two players have won more in this season’s La Liga, and both of them have made two appearances to Martin’s one.
Ideally, Arsenal will complete a deal for Hincapie, sell Kiwior to Porto, and that will be the end of this summer’s business. But if things go wrong, it seems Andrea Berta has a backup plan or two.
The Gunners have also been linked with Arnau Martinez in recent days, a Girona right-back who can also play at centre-back. You’d expect that only one of Hincapie, Martin, and Martinez will be an Arsenal player by Monday, but the others could remain on Mikel Arteta’s shortlist for the future.