Gelson Martins might not be coming to the Premier League this summer. There are reports claiming that La Liga side Atletico Madrid are ahead of a couple of English clubs in trying to sign the Portuguese winger, according to Correiro da Manha (h/t The Express).

The report claims that the 23-year-old’s agent is currently in Spain to speak to the Madrid club about a move for the Sporting Lisbon man. But Liverpool and Arsenal are reportedly two of the teams interested in him from the Premier League.

Martins and a host of other players have asked for their contracts to be terminated after the Sporting players were attacked by fans during a training session a few weeks ago.

Martins is a part of the World Cup squad for Portugal and he even featured in the 1-0 win over Morocco. The 23-year-old can play in a number of attacking positions and would be a great option to have given his attacking tendencies.

What is a worry, however, is that Atletico are seemingly ahead of us in the race for the 23-year-old. The Madrid club already have signed Thomas Lemar, while Antoine Griezmann has extended his stay at the club. Hence, their interest in Martins does come as a bit of a surprise.

It would be great if we can beat the La Liga giants to sign Martins as we must compete to win trophies next season. Additionally, we do play a better brand of football when compared to Atletico and maybe that could help lure the youngster to this side of the Merseyside.