Aston Villa should reportedly be braced for an offer from Manchester United to try and prise Emiliano Martinez away from us this summer.
The 32-year-old has been a fundamental presence for us since arriving in 2020, as he’s played a pivotal role in our progression, particularly under Unai Emery, and will remain a critical player for the Villa boss moving forward.
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With a contract that runs until 2029, Villa would ideally like to have no real concern over losing the Argentine shot-stopper this summer, but unfortunately, speculation remains rife over his future as he continues to be linked with a departure.
That’s largely down to our PSR and SCR concerns ahead of June 30, and the expectation is that we’ll have to sell to fund our own moves for reinforcements this summer to ensure that we continue to balance our books in the most efficient way possible with a short-term and long-term plan in mind.
Further, our inability to qualify for the Champions League was a setback, both from a sporting and financial perspective, and so it’s unclear if that has had a negative impact on this particular situation too.
Losing Martinez this summer would be a damaging blow, and as ESPN Argentina’s Leo Paradizo reports, he is aware of interest from Man Utd, and while they intend on selling Andre Onana, they are tipped to step up their pursuit of our first-choice goalkeeper to replace him.
Given they can’t offer European football next season and face significant question marks still after such a woeful campaign last year, it would undoubtedly be a real surprise if Martinez was open to moving to Old Trafford, as although they remain significantly more established than us in terms of revenue and reach, it’s surely a questionable project to join at this stage in his career as he’ll be desperate to compete for trophies immediately if he moves on.
From a Villa perspective, it could be a forced decision if it’s the only viable option to help comply with PSR before the deadline at the end of the month, and while it’s hoped that it doesn’t come to that, time will tell if Man Utd come knocking and try to take advantage of our situation and prise Martinez away.
With Robin Olsen already moving on this summer with his contract set to expire, it’s hoped that we’re not in the market for two goalkeepers to fill voids left behind, as the Martinez shaped hole would be much more difficult to solve.
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People in the Villa hierarchy have reached out to some big youtubers telling them the media got the whole media PSR narrative all wrong and are wide off the mark. Villa dont have to sell anyone before the PSR deadline. Selling or at least trying to sell Coutinho Dendonker Bailey Moreno Buendia Kessler Hayden maybe Bogarde if he doesnt agree a new contract when the new financial year starts. Maybe swoop Barrenechea for Javier Guerra with Valencia can happen. But there wont be a firesale at the end of this month.