Amid speculation over his future, there are reportedly no offers or talks taking place currently over Emiliano Martinez leaving Aston Villa this summer.
The 32-year-old was emotional as he left the pitch following our 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Friday night, sparking many to believe that he was tearful because it might be the last time he plays for us at Villa Park.
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Coupled with transfer rumours in recent weeks linking us with a potential replacement in between the posts, it has led to many fearing that we could be set to lose a fundamental figure in the current squad.
However, according to Marca, although there is still the possibility that he moves on in the summer, there are no offers, talks or negotiations taking place at this stage, and so there is seemingly a long way to go before Martinez is heading out the exit door.
That will come as a relief to many given his reaction after the full-time whistle against Spurs gave the impression that he knew he might be on the brink of a departure, but it’s noted in the report above that Villa have emphasised that the Argentine shot-stopper is under contract until June 2029, and so it remains to be seen what happens this summer despite touted interest from Barcelona and Saudi Arabia.
It’s still felt that qualifying for the Champions League could be decisive, as it will boost our finances and potentially ease the pressure of having to sell key individuals to balance our books and stay within PSR parameters.
Having had to move the likes of Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby and Jhon Duran on in recent transfer windows as part of that strategy, coupled with a number of our young talents who came through our Youth Academy, it’s a sad reality that Villa will likely have to continue to sell in order to fund our own moves to strengthen Unai Emery’s squad.
What the Villa boss would surely rather not do though is to have to continue to replace influential stalwarts in his preferred XI, and so time will tell if we can avoid that and keep hold of Martinez, or if we will ultimately have to sell regardless of the suggestion that there are no talks taking place as of right now with any club over a potential transfer deal.
Given his age, wages and the possibility that he could fetch a significant transfer fee, there remains a clear risk that Martinez does leave this summer, but nothing is seemingly imminent, and we have one huge game remaining this season that we must win to keep our Champions League qualification hopes alive.
