Man United target with €60m release clause rejects much-improved new contract offer

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Sporting Clube de Portugal starlet Gelson Martins has reportedly rejected a significant salary increase from the club amid interest from Europe.

Talk of United’s interest in the 21-year-old was first reported by Record earlier this week, who added that the talented youngster had a €60m release clause in place with his current deal.

Martins has impressed this season with two goals and five assists in eight outings in all competitions, and his form hasn’t gone unnoticed around Europe with both United and Real Madrid paired with an interest in the above report.

In fact, the latter saw him up close in the Champions League earlier this month, with his display at the Bernabeu earning him positive reviews across the media.

Building on that speculation, Correio da Manha have now claimed that Sporting moved to offer Martins a new deal in order to deter interest from elsewhere and to therefore put themselves in a stronger position if they did indeed decide to sell.

It’s reported that they offered him €250,000-per-year in gross wages, but it’s claimed that he rejected that offer and is looking for something closer to €500,000-per-year.

Martins is reportedly on €9,000-a-month currently, and with his current deal running until 2021, it’s no surprise that he wishes to agree on improved personal terms.

A meeting between the two parties has been cancelled after the player’s agent rejected the offer via email, as noted by Correio da Manha, and so it remains to be seen as to whether or not they can resolve the issue.

The longer the disagreement lasts, the more interest it will lead to from United and Real Madrid who could look to take advantage of the situation, and so a swift resolution will likely need to be reached if he is to stay in Portugal.

Whether or not he’s ready for a move to such a big club is a separate debate as he’s still young and raw, but his form is certainly creating a buzz around him.

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