Far be it for me to tell Sam Allardyce how to do his job, but if Arsenal offer £13m for Obafemi Martins I'd not only take the cheque off them, I'd throw in a complimentary mug and offer to pay the Nigerian's First Class train fare to London.
It’s not that Martins is a bad player, far from it. For a first season in English football, a return of 17 goals is a fantastic achievement - Darren Bent scored 13 last season and has just signed for Tottenham for £16m - and I don’t think it is beyond the realms of fantasy to suggest that, without his goals, Newcastle could have been relegated.
But I have, as regular readers will know, two doubts about him. His attitude and application and his ability to play effectively alongside Michael Owen.
There has been a new buzz word at St James’s Park this week - get out clause. Come to think of it, that’s more a phrase than a word, but anyway.
Michael Owen has one - despite Freddie Shepherd’s previous denials - and so too, we have discovered this week, does Martins.
Of course the big difference is that the one in Owen’s contract gets less the longer he stays at the club - currently it’s £9m - which doesn’t seem to be the cleverest example of business acumen, but at least the club had the sense to ask for more money than they paid to sign the player in the case of Martins.
If Martins goes to Arsenal there will be some supporters who oppose the decision. Foreign footballers generally take at least one season to settle in English football, he’s young and has plenty of scope for improvement. Last season could merely a be a glimpse of his full potential.
But I would argue there will also be a large section who see it as the correct thing to do. A three million profit and the chance to invest it in a player like Barcelona’s Eidur Gudjohnsen or Bolton’s Nicolas Anelka would have Del Boy rubbing his hands in glee.
I should perhaps point out here that the reference to Del Boy is merely a metaphor for a tidy piece of wheeling and dealing. I’m not implying in any way that Allardyce is like the character from Only Fools And Horses!
There is also the fact that the former Inter Milan forward has not exactly endeared himself to fans or teammates with his little “I’m too good to be a substitute� strop at Watford on the last day of last season.
Given that, as things stand, Allardyce will have Martins, Owen, Mark Viduka and Shola Ameobi, as well as Kieron Dyer if necessary, to deploy in an attacking role next season, there is going to be a certain amount of squad rotation next season.
As thing stand, I would predict that Owen and Viduka - at least when he gets back from the Asia Cup - will be the first-choice pair next season.
How will Martins cope with that? He doesn’t seem to like the idea of being on the bench does he!? And how will he cope with the fact that he will always play second fiddle to England’s Michael Owen?
I suppose the flip side of that is, while I doubt very much that Owen will be leaving before the start of the season, there is going to be constant speculation about his future and there is another transfer window in January by which time, Little Mo will have hopefully proved his fitness and his goalscoring touch!
If Martins is allowed to leave and then Owen does one in the New Year, Newcastle will suddenly be light on goalscorers again and the decision to sell Martins would look like a silly one.
It’s a tough call for Allardyce, presuming Arsenal’s interest in Martins is real and not another summer transfer speculation fabrication, but they are precisely the sort of decisions he is paid to make.
If I was in his shoes, however, I’d sell Martins and use the money to buy Gudjohnsen and/or Anelka, which would leave a sizeable sum to invest elsewhere. However the key thing is to have a replacement lined up. What do you reckon?
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