Vicente del Bosque has provided Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez with a glowing reference ahead of a proposed transfer to Bayern Munich.
The versatile midfielder, who was a member of Del Bosque’s Euro 2012-winning squad this summer, is on the verge of a €40m transfer to the Bavarians.
“Javi Martinez is a born leader, he is very much complete and a part of the national team’s future,” the 61-year-old told German paper Bild.
“He’s a great player and a great person, so I can only congratulate Bayern if they can add him to their team. They will have a lot of fun with him.
“In footballing terms I can compare him to Patrick Vieira. He is a born leader. He covers much ground, solves many problems in the defensive midfield.
“He is a complete player, he has almost the entire pitch in his mind. It will not be like Bilbao to sell him, but with Bayern he can strive to the top.
The tactician also had a different view to the concern that surrounds the exodus of Spanish talent from La Liga.
Fernando Llorente is set for a move to Italy or England, Santi Cazorla is now at Arsenal, whilst David Silva continues with Manchester City and David de Gea with Manchester United.
“It has always helped our players to be playing for top clubs abroad. The tactics bring them on.”
