Real Madrid are close to signing midfielder Sergio Martinez from Racing Santander, according to reports from Spain - particularly The Athletic.
Martinez is a 19-year-old midfielder who has been raved about for a little while now, and his stocks are not that high at the moment.
His release clause is just three million euros, and it is probably because of the limited number of minutes the player has spent playing for Racing Santander's senior team. He has made just 11 league appearances for the first team - one of which was last weekend in La Liga, where he scored an absolute stunner.
Real Madrid are accelerating talks for him, but the only catch is that the midfielder likely won't play for them this season.
Martinez could join Real Madrid officially this summer, but will either spend the season with Racing Santander on loan, or join Castilla.
It will be better for Sergio Martinez to stay at Racing Santander for another season
The club, at the moment, leans towards him joining Castilla, but they would consider loaning him back to Racing Santander if he is promised regular minutes to develop as a football player.
Martinez started Racing Santander's first game back in La Liga, and also scored a brilliant goal. It wasn't against another newly promoted team - rather, it was against Villarreal, a team that finished third in the league last season.
Having the confidence to start the player in such a big occasion for the club, and the player in turn churning out such a big performance is rare for a 19 year old, but Martinez did really well.
Of course, it is only one game - and the sample size in general with Martinez is limited - but in the limited minutes people have seen him play for, he looks very talented.
He is over six feet tall, but he moves with the ball as if he's another short, agile midfielder. His ball progression and dribbling skills are quite impressive, often likened to Pedri, with whom he shares a lot of qualities.
Martinez, if guaranteed game-time for Racing Santander, should definitely stay there on loan for another season. It makes no sense for a player who is seemingly talented enough to stay in La Liga, to be playing third division football for Real Madrid's reserve team.
The only upsides that playing for Castilla would have, though, are that the game-time would be more than guaranteed in a set-up that is meant to get youth players to develop. Secondly, if he is ever needed for the first team - either in an emergency or otherwise - he would get the opportunity to do so.
If he is at Racing Santander, that opportunity could go to another talented Castilla midfielder. In that regard, the club and the player have a big decision to make.
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