Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has shared his delight over Emiliano Martinez winning FIFA’s The Best Goalkeeper of 2022 and revealed his hope for the future.
Martinez was named the winner of the prestigious award on Monday night in Paris, following an excellent year in which he was a pivotal figure for Villa and of course played an influential role in Argentina’s World Cup success in Qatar.
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The 30-year-old thanked the club among many others for the role they’ve played in his career thus far, but naturally as he continues to earn accolades, interest from elsewhere will undoubtedly increase.
From a Villa perspective, it’s hoped that Martinez is a pillar of the side for many more years to come and one that Emery can build around rather than having to replace, and with a contract that runs until 2027, Villa are seemingly in a strong position to fend off interest or if necessary, demand a significant fee to approve an exit.
However, based on Emery’s comments below after the award was announced, it’s clear that the Villa boss wants, and expects, Martinez to stay with the club, and he believes that he will be an important figure for us moving forward given his experience and mentality in winning major trophies for his country.
“Emi is an example of self-improvement and has managed to reach the top with many difficulties, due to his effort and mentality,” he said, as per the club’s tweet below.
“For Aston Villa, he is an example and a source of pride. He deserves this award and I hope he gets many trophies with us.”
Time will tell how the situation plays out, starting this summer, as speculation will no doubt continue between now and the end of the season.
It’s clear what Emery’s stance is, and although there has been mixed signals from Martinez to an extent as he hasn’t hidden his Champions League ambitions but consistently reiterates how much he loves Villa, it’s hoped that he’s willing to stick around for Emery’s first full season in charge next year at least to see if we can move closer towards achieving those objectives.
Villa of course want to return to Europe and Emery has made no secret of his desire to win trophies at the club too, and while there’s still a long way to go this season to potentially tick off the former, we’ll hopefully be in a stronger position to satisfy the latter next season too.
🗣️ @UnaiEmery_: “Emi is an example of self-improvement and has managed to reach the top with many difficulties, due to his effort and mentality.
“For Aston Villa, he is an example and a source of pride. He deserves this award and I hope he gets many trophies with us.” https://t.co/jheF9xgXTI
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 28, 2023
