Arsenal prepare Martinez bid, Vidal says 'no' to Man Utd

Could Gunners be sending Joel Campbell out on loan because they have another striker up their sleeve?

Jackson Martinez

As we reported yesterday Arsenal are reportedly ready to loan Joel Campbell to Sunderland despite the face the Costa Rican striker dazzled during the World Cup in Brazil. But perhaps Talksport knows the reason why Arsene Wenger is happy to farm out Campbell, for it claims that the Gunners are closing in on Porto hitman Jackson Martinez.

The Colombian World Cup star has a £32m buy-out clause woven into his contract and though the Portuguese club are insistent that it must be met, they are willing to sell if a club stumps up the sum. The club that finds the cash could be Arsenal – although the Gunners could face competition from AC Milan, Roma and Spanish outfit Valencia. All are interested in Martinez who, since joining Porto two seasons ago, has netted 46 times in 60 league appearances. Porto paid Mexican club Chiapas just £7.7m for Martinez in 2012 so if he does move on they'll have made themselves a nice little earner.

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Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.