Qatari club Al-Sadd SC are reportedly interested in Gabriel Martinelli, but the chances of a move appear low after the player’s recent rejection of Galatasaray.
Matteo Moretto reports that Al-Sadd SC of the Qatar Stars League are closely following Gabriel Martinelli’s situation at Arsenal, though Moretto adds that the Gunners have put a valuation of more than €50m (£42.8m) on the player.
Arsenal do seem to be open to offers for Martinelli, but the player’s desires are likely to cause problems for any Al-Sadd bid.
Galatasaray already made a serious move for the winger, offering €45m (£38.5m) for the transfer. Whether or not Arsenal would have accepted that bid, David Ornstein reported for The Athletic that the player’s camp rejected the possibility of a move to Turkey.
Ornstein wrote that Martinelli isn’t pushing to leave the club, so it would evidently need to be an attractive proposal to convince him to depart.
If a move to the Super Lig to join one of the biggest Turkish clubs didn’t appeal, it seems unlikely an offer from Al-Sadd in Qatar would fare any better.
There have also been some rumours linking Martinelli with Napoli, but Fabrizio Romano reports that he’s not aware of anything concrete happening on that front. For all the talk that a transfer might be possible, there are few realistic options on the table.
Martinelli was left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for the Community Shield on Sunday, though he wasn’t the only one.
Excluding the injured Jurrien Timber and William Saliba, and third-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier, Martinelli was one of five senior players not involved.
But the others were Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, and Reiss Nelson, all of whom are seemingly up for transfer.
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