Martino infers inside knowledge, as he tips striker to join Man Utd

Gerardo Martino TEAMtalk

Mexico boss Gerardo Martino has tipped Wolves striker Raul Jimenez to join Manchester United this summer.

Jimenez’s 24-goal haul this season has grabbed the attention of United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian has yet to replace Romelu Lukaku, who left for Inter Milan last summer, and if the United boss is looking for a new no.9 then Jimenez could be a good fit.

In fact the Sunday Express reported United were keen on the forward in April with the 29-year-old revealing he had no release clause in his contract with Wolves, which keeps him at the club until 2023.

“They [Wolves] bought me for €40m, they will not sell me for less,” he said.

“There is no release clause, but the clubs here [in England], it is different how they are managed.”

Wolves though planted a €100m (£90m) price tag on Jimenez, according to AS, to keep him away from the clutches of Solskjaer.

Now Jimenez’s international boss Martino has seemed to suggest it’s a battle between two clubs for the forward and fancies the forward to go to Old Trafford.

“Looking at it from the outside today I cannot see a specialist number nine like Raul at United,” the Mexico boss told ESPN . “There are many forwards like [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial and the boy who now plays as a right-winger, [Mason] Greenwood, but since Romelu Lukaku left I can’t see a pure number nine like Raul.”

 

 

 

Martino, who used to manage MLS side Atlanta United, has inferred that it’s a battle between United and Juventus for the striker.

“At Juventus, he will have more of a fight because [Cristiano] Ronaldo shares the inside of the pitch with whoever plays alongside him, with [Paulo] Dybala or with [Gonzalo] Higuain and maybe he has a tougher fight there,” added Martino.

“We who see it from the outside, you [the journalist] and even me, always have the idea that a player has to aim for more and how good it would be for him to go to play for Manchester United.

 

‘Maybe he wants a bigger challenge’

Raul.Jimenez.Wolves.Getty_

“For me, that at one point in my life I was in a very big club [Barcelona], and having lived a difficult year there, I say that you have to be convinced of the step you want to take and you have to analyse it from many places.

“And he has elements to analyse it because, although he has not been at Manchester United, he was at Atletico Madrid and he was at Benfica. And he has elements to put in the balance to decide what he wants from his life.

“Maybe he wants a bigger challenge because he feels that he is in good shape and has to take advantage of it, maybe he wants to stay in this place, maybe the options you read about are not real and do not exist.

“I think the best thing is for Raul to make the decision based on the analysis he makes and with the consensus of his family because, when it comes to enjoying, not only the player suffers and enjoy, but also the family do it.”