Sounders GM confirms talks with Chinese teams for Obafemi Martins

The Chinese Super League has taken the football world by storm and while Europe's biggest clubs orchestrate blockbuster deal after blockbuster deal, it seems even Major League Soccer isn't immune to the allure of cash over in the far east.

Seattle Sounders forward Obafemi Martins is the latest target of Chinese football and club general manager Garth Lagerway revealed that talks are advanced enough so that Martins isn't with the team for preseason training.

"I can tell you that Oba is not here with us in this phase of camp," Lagerway told reporters, as quoted by MLSsoccer.com. "We've had an approach from a Chinese club for his services. It could take a while to have that resolved. There's nothing else we can really add at this point, and we hope to know more by the end of the week."

Martins is but one former Premier League forward being courted by the Chinese Super League and he's not the first MLS player to make the switch, either - New York Red Bulls midfield star Tim Cahill has that honour, having joined Shanghai Shenhua in 2015.

Losing Martins won't go down well with the Emerald City faithful, though; he and Clint Dempsey have formed a fantastic duo up top for the Sounders. Still, Lagerway isn't too worried about the state of his team, should Martins depart the club.

"I don't think it has any impact on us, in the sense that we'll go forward with this group," Lagerway said, acknowledging his current camp. "Those are the guys that are here. That's the group that we're going to rely upon. And that's the group, by and large, that's intact from last year that did pretty well at the end of last season. We'll do what we need to do."

And what Lagerway might end up having to do is sign another star Designated Player to replace Martins.

"We have contingency plans," he said. "If that third DP spot opens up, it gives us a lot more roster flexibility and the ability to implement our long-term vision for this team. If it doesn't, we'll have Obafemi Martins back, and that'll be a good thing, too."