Reports linking Leeds United, West Ham and West Brom with Matthew Sorinola have come as ‘no surprise’ to MK Dons manager Russell Martin but the, speaking to the MK Citizen, he says the defender will not be sold on the cheap.
The Dons have a proud history when it comes to giving a chance to budding youngsters and, six years after a young midfielder by the name of Dele Alli was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur, another Stadium MK starlet is emerging as a target for Premier League clubs.
TEAMtalk reported over the weekend that Leeds, West Brom, West Ham, Newcastle, Burnley and Crystal Palace are all keen on highly-rated left-back Sorinola.
The 19-year-old has featured in 11 League One matches this season and, with MK Dons battling against the drop, Martin is understandably keen to hang onto one of his star players until the summer.
Fortunately, the third-tier club are under no immediate pressure to cash in.
“We don’t have to sell, but every club outside the top four in the Premier League is a selling club because that’s the nature of the business,” Martin, the former Norwich and Rangers defender, explains.
“If we end up getting a valuation for any of our players, and it has to be big for players like Matty, and we get a substantial bid, I have to accept that might be one the chairman has to take.
“But we haven’t had any conversations about that, or put a valuation on him because we don’t want to sell him, and we don’t need to sell him.
“He has been brilliant. It is no surprise to me that clubs are looking at him.
TEAMtalk adds that clubs in the Championship, including Brentford, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough, are also among Sorinola’s many suitors.
Young, technically gifted and boasting vast potential, Sorinola is, in many ways, a typical Victor Orta signing at Leeds United.
Furthermore, Marcelo Bielsa does not have a ‘natural’ left-back at his disposal, although Stuart Dallas and Gianni Alioski have adapted impressively to a more defensive role.
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