Aston Villa reportedly value Emiliano Martinez at around £40m and will only sell him this summer if that valuation is met.
The 32-year-old shot-stopper has been a key presence for Villa since he joined us from Arsenal in 2020, as he’s since gone on to make 212 appearances for the club and has played a vital part in our ongoing progression into a more competitive side.
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That has come with success and personal accolades at international level with Argentina, which in turn has cemented Martinez as one of the best goalkeepers in the world currently.
However, doubts over his future at Villa have persisted since his emotional reaction at the full-time whistle of our last home game last season, and speculation has been rife over potential interest from elsewhere, but with no formal bids seemingly being made to advance any negotiations.
According to The Telegraph, Villa have already rejected a bizarre loan offer from Manchester United for the Argentine international, but it’s added that we could green light an exit for Martinez this summer if his £40m valuation is met.
While the club would surely prefer to keep hold of our most prized assets, we have to reduce our wage bill over the next two summers to ensure we don’t breach UEFA’s SCR regulations and face the threat of further sanctions.
With Martinez being one of the highest earners at the club, his departure could go a long way to helping solve that particular issue, and so that seems to be the consensus thinking regarding why Villa would entertain the idea of selling him.
For now though, he has travelled with the rest of the squad to the USA for our pre-season tour, and if it’s financially feasible for the club, the hope remains that he’ll still be with us with when the new Premier League campaign gets underway next month.
Villa would ideally like to continue to build around our core pieces rather than having to replace them, but should an interested party meet our £40m price-tag, that would certainly arm us with the necessary funds to go and sign a more than capable replacement, perhaps with a longer-term solution in mind.
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