Samuel Martínez is drawing close attention in Europe after Colombia’s 2026 South American Under-17 Championship win, with Borussia Dortmund reportedly following the 17-year-old attacking midfielder from Atlético Nacional’s youth divisions.
Martínez played a direct part in Colombia’s title run, finishing the tournament with three assists in six matches as the team lifted the Under-17 crown. The numbers have pushed him into the conversation as one of the country’s top youth prospects, and the reports have placed his estimated value at about 1 million euros.
That figure does not point to a standard transfer chase. It is being described more as a training compensation amount than a conventional fee, which makes the next step around the player more delicate than a simple bid-and-sign race. For now, there are no closed negotiations and no signed documents confirming a move.
That is where the market pressure starts to build. Borussia Dortmund is not the only club said to be watching Martínez. Reports also mention interest from Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham, Atlético de Madrid and Benfica, a list that stretches across Germany, England, Spain and Portugal and shows how quickly the tournament has lifted his profile.
Martínez’s rise comes from a familiar path for elite South American teenagers: a strong international tournament, a role at the center of a winning team and immediate interest from Europe’s biggest scouting networks. Colombia’s Under-17 title gave the country a showcase, and Martínez emerged from it with the kind of production that gets tracked far beyond the final whistle.
For now, the story is less about a transfer being done than about a player being watched. The market is in an observation phase, and that leaves Martínez in the middle of a familiar but important moment for South American prospects: good enough to attract Europe’s largest clubs, but not yet tied down by a formal deal.
