Barcelona have been heavily linked with Athletic Club defender Inigo Martinez since last summer, and there is now a consistent line of reporting that he will move to the Catalan club in the summer. Martinez is out of contract in the summer and has been free to negotiate since January.
According to Relevo, Martinez has already signed a deal with Barcelona. Their information is that the Basque defender has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Barcelona. He passed his medical last month.
Despite some doubts induced by El Caso Negreira, and the potential sanctions it may bring, Martinez has been convinced to sign on. It is thought that a clause will be included in his contract that means if Barcelona cannot register his contract, he will agree to leave on loan.
Martinez, 31, missed several months of the season with Athletic through injury, but has returned to be a starter under Ernesto Valverde, and returned to the Spain squad too.
While he is not unhappy with life in Bilbao, he feels Barcelona are his last chance to play in the Champions League again, and compete for titles.
He would allow Xavi Hernandez to use a left-footed central defender, with only Marcos Alonso filling that function this season, as a makeshift solution.
Happy days just need to sell that disaster that is Eric Garcia now and we will be golden