Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is ‘expected to leave’ this summer as speculation over his future increases following our win over Tottenham.
The 32-year-old Argentine shot-stopper was in tears as he left the pitch on Friday night, and it certainly had the sense of being a goodbye to the Villa faithful in our last home game of the season.
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While we await a more official update from either the club or Martinez himself in addressing his future, rumours continue to build over a potential exit at the end of the season, ending what has been a memorable stint in a Villa shirt.
Martinez joined us in September 2020 and has gone on to make 211 appearances for the club, and he’ll hopefully help us secure Champions League football in consecutive seasons on the final day of the current campaign.
Although we’ve fallen short in our bid to win a trophy, he has been a fundamental presence in our progression and development in recent years, but it seems as though his time at Villa is coming to an end.
As per Fabrizio Romano, the World Cup winner will assess his options in the summer with touted approaches from Europe and Saudi Arabia, but the key point he reports is that Martinez is expected to leave, which would certainly explain his emotional reaction after the full-time whistle against Spurs.
It echoes what Argentine journalist Gaston Edul reported, as he noted that Martinez is moving towards a departure, seemingly regardless of whether or not we qualify for the Champions League, but most certainly if we don’t.
Given the quality, character, leadership and influence that he has had on this team and defence, it’s going to be an incredibly difficult task trying to fill that potential void, as some may even argue that Martinez is irreplaceable for us given how decisive and consistent he has been for the most part between the posts, while establishing himself as the best in the world through his exploits with Argentina too.
Villa will absolutely have to identify a suitable replacement in their eyes before we green light an exit for our current No.1, and as per Romano’s report above and Matteo Moretto, we’ve shown interest in Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, and the talented 24-year-old could emerge as our priority if Martinez moves on.
Garcia has come through the youth ranks at Espanyol and made 65 appearances at senior level, while he’s now on the verge of breaking into the senior Spain squad having represented his country from U18s to U21s level.
He has earned rave reviews for his form this season and is said to have attracted interest from top clubs around Europe, and so that says a lot about his potential and ability to be a long-term solution for us if we can fend off the competition and land his signature. It’s a fundamental move that Villa must get right if we ultimately have to lose one of the most influential figures in Emery’s current squad.
