With speculation continuing to link Emiliano Martinez with an Aston Villa exit this summer, Unai Emery gave mixed signals when discussing his future on Sunday.
The Villa boss spoke before and after our clash with Manchester United on the Argentine shot-stopper’s future, with rumours continuing to suggest that the 32-year-old could be sold this summer as we face more pressure to comply with PSR.
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Martinez has been a fundamental figure for us since joining in September 2020, as he has since gone on to make 212 appearances for the club and has played a pivotal role in our progression to where we are now.
However, particularly after we missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the Premier League campaign, the expectation is that we’ll have to sell key individuals this summer, and soon, to ensure that we don’t breach PSR. Further, Villa must lower our wage bill ahead of competing in Europe again next season, and so selling Martinez could be a clear way of addressing both those issues.
When asked by TNT Sports ahead of kick-off if this might be Martinez’s last appearance as a Villa player, Emery replied: “No way”.
Now, many would have taken that with a pinch of salt given the Villa boss is hardly going to reveal prior to such a pivotal game that our star goalkeeper is set to leave this summer regardless, but it did sound like a defiant response to try and dismiss the suggestion that Martinez is definitely leaving.
The Villa boss was asked about the World Cup winner again after our defeat at Old Trafford, and it seems the tone of his response changed.
“I don’t know,” he said, as per the Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell. “I don’t know. He has a contract with us, and we are very happy, and we will see how it’s going in the summer.”
Of course, in an ideal world, we’d keep all of our top players and continue to build around them to create an even more competitive squad.
However, we face financial pressures and the disappointment of not being able to offer Champions League football next season, and those factors combined, could force us into some difficult decisions especially if the players are keen to move on.
Martinez was emotional as he left the pitch at Villa Park in our final home game of the season against Tottenham last week, and that in itself was arguably enough to suggest that he felt as though he was saying goodbye with rumours immediately following which questioned his future at Villa.
Time will tell if that proves to be the case as it has since been widely reported that nothing is agreed at this point, but having seen their work since joining the club, there is full faith in Emery, Monchi and the rest of the recruitment team to get it right when it comes to replacing key individuals and building a competitive squad, even in challenging circumstances.