Martinez issues Di Santo hands off warning

It might seem one of the more far-fetched stories in recent weeks but Sky Sports News are reporting that Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has insisted that Franco Di Santo will not be allowed to leave the club in January.

Whilst Di Santo is out of contract in the Summer, it seems strange that interest is being generated in a player whose scoring record is hardly inspiring; this season he has scored just four leagues. What is perhaps most alarming is that the club Di Santo is being linked with is Liverpool, a team that should surely be looking for better than the Argentine if they are serious about becoming Champions League contenders.

Of course Di Santo is still relatively young at 23, but at the end of last year he played a key part in Wigan's tremendous survival effort so this evidence that there is more to him than his average goal scoring effort suggests. You also can't blame Martinez for getting just a little paranoid about another of his players leaving, given that over the past couple a years Wigan have made a habit of losing their better players with Mohamed Diame and Victor Moses prime examples of this occurring this year.

If you are a Liverpool fan the news that Martinez is rebuffing his interest must be a little bit worrying and you have to wonder that surely the Spaniard would not draw attention to a player possibly leaving if there was no reason for him to. Di Santo might have struggled for goals this term however it would seem that his manager is very much determined to keep him in his plans.

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