Emiliano Martinez has addressed speculation over his Aston Villa future, but remained non-committal on what the future holds for him at this stage.
The 32-year-old sparked transfer talk after his emotional reaction following the full-time whistle in our final home game of the season against Tottenham last month.
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Many interpreted the Argentine shot-stopper being tearful as a sign that he may well have been saying goodbye to the Villa Park faithful ahead of an uncertain summer where the club are under pressure to sell to not only ensure we avoid breaching PSR and UEFA financial rules, but to raise money through sales to continue to bring in reinforcements.
Interest from rival clubs has been reported and so doubts are growing over Martinez’s future at Villa, but there is arguably a lot still up in the air at the club as Unai Emery, Monchi and the rest of the management team plan and strategise the best way possible to remain compliant with PSR while trying to strengthen the squad.
Martinez has been a fundamental figure for us since arriving in 2020, as he’s made 212 appearances and has been an integral piece in helping us make progress and compete at a higher level under Emery while enjoying plenty of success at international level with Argentina during that time too.
Having reported for international duty this week, it was no surprise that he was quizzed on his future, and although he didn’t give much away at this stage, there certainly wasn’t a rebuttal or a dismissive tone to his response as it seems as though all options are currently still on the table.
“My future? I don’t know, I come here to play for the national team and that’s the only thing that matters to me right now,” he is quoted as telling the media, as per Goal.com.
“Do I want to move to a new club? The transfer window just opened so there’s still a long way to go.”
That could be interpreted as Martinez effectively waiting for a transfer to materialise as he’s ready to move on and start a new challenge elsewhere, or it could be a concession that it’s ultimately in the hands of the club as they try to juggle our finances and balance that with remaining competitive, and so our No.1 has to wait for now to see how things play out.
Although the figures perhaps differentiate, there is an acceptance that Villa must sell before June 30 to balance our books and ensure we comply with PSR. Further, we have a dangerously high wage bill to revenue ratio which must be lowered to comply with UEFA’s rules, and as one of the highest earners at the club, Martinez could be seen as a sacrifice that has to be made.
Time will tell if a suitable offer arrives for him or not, but there’s no doubt that Monchi and the team are working tirelessly to make the best possible decisions for the club and for things to start moving sooner rather than later as the longer it drags on, it becomes more panicked and desperate from our perspective.