Amid expected speculation over his future, both Aston Villa and Emi Martinez are reportedly in agreement on where things stand in January at least.
Following his heroics at the World Cup, the 30-year-old is bound to be a player in demand as he has proven his quality since his arrival at Villa in 2020.
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Having established himself as a No.1 for both club and country, Martinez is now in the conversation for one of the best shot-stoppers in the game, and Villa were fortunately able to secure his long-term future last year as he penned a new contract that runs until 2027.
Given the things Martinez has said publicly about the club in terms of how they’ve helped him get to the position he is now in and where he wants to help take us to compete at the top level, there is a genuine feeling that he will not want to leave as long as we’re progressing and moving closer to achieving that objective.
However, things can also quickly change especially after his recent success with Argentina, but reports from his homeland suggest that neither the club nor the player are thinking about a departure in January.
As per Argentine journalist Cesar Luis Merlo’s tweet below, there is plenty of interest in Martinez, but Villa and the goalkeeper are not considering an exit this month. Further, and this is a pretty important additional point, he notes that there is no release clause in Martinez’s current contract, and so Villa would set the asking price.
That is a vital piece of insight. While naturally we should have zero intention of selling Martinez and instead want him to be a fundamental figure in our ongoing pursuit of success, if the situation presented itself where he wanted to leave and we were willing to allow that to happen, coupled with the length of his contract, we are certainly in a strong position to either fend off interest with a big price-tag or make a significant profit.
As a club looking to grow and compete for honours again, we have to keep players like Martinez and build around him. Based on these latest reports, it seems we won’t have to be concerned with an exit this month at least anyway.
🚨 Varios clubes han puesto sus 👀 en el Dibu Martínez después de su gran Mundial, pero la intención del Aston Villa y del arquero de la selección es que no se mueva en este mercado.
*️⃣Como no tiene cláusula de rescisión, la palabra final ante una posible oferta es del #AVFC pic.twitter.com/cnLgwOPxsE— César Luis Merlo (@CLMerlo) January 7, 2023
