Effenberg: Martinez move risky for Bayern

Posted Friday, August 24, 2012 by ESPN

Bayern Munich legend Stefan Effenberg has questioned the club's pursuit of Athletic Bilbao's Javi Martinez.

In a bid to wrest the Bundesliga title back from rivals Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich have invested heavily this summer. Despite signing the likes of Dante, Mario Mandzukic, and Xherdan Shaqiri, Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes remains desperate to sign Martinez.

The Spaniard is an important fixture in the Bilbao first team, prompting his current employers to slap a 40 million Euro price-tag on the midfielder. After drawn-out negotiations, the German giants agreed to meet Bilbao's asking price, thanks in part to Martinez's willingness to reduce his wage demands. However, Bayern president Uli Hoeness recently expressed his fears that the club could fail in their pursuit of the player.

Effenberg told TZ that he hoped for Martinez to hit the ground running should he complete his move to the Allianz Arena, given the large transfer fee the club would have paid for him.

"I hope that he will do really well at Bayern, becomes one of the stars of the Bundesliga, and helps them to the league title," Effenberg said.

"There's a big risk, though. I've been asking myself whether he's worth this kind of money, and I don't think that's the case."

While the former midfielder admitted that Martinez was not lacking in ability, he questioned the exorbitant amount of money Bayern were paying for a player unproven on the world stage.

"It has surprised me a bit that Bayern are so desperate to get him. He is not even a regular starter for Spain. Yes, he has won the World Cup and the Euros, but he played only 25 minutes at Euro 2012," Effenberg stated.

"It's clear that he's not on par with the big guns like [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi. That's why I'm wondering whether he's worth the money."

Bayern Munich begin their Bundesliga campaign with a visit to Greuther Furth on Saturday.