£60m Aston Villa exit prediction by BBC pundit as Tottenham and Emi Martinez update emerges
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton believes Aston Villa would want as much as £60million for Emiliano Martinez if the goalkeeper was to leave Villa Park in the summer transfer window.
The Daily Mail reported on 21 February that Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham could all be in the hunt for a new goalkeeper this summer and Villa “would consider offers” for Martinez, 30, if the price is right.
Martinez has had a whirlwind four months, winning the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar, winning the Golden Glove award and then winning The Best FIFA Men’s goalkeeper.
According to Hutton, Martinez’s rise has been almost overnight and as a result, he thinks Villa would demand a huge fee for the ex-Arsenal goalkeeper.
However, he doubts that a club like Spurs would go as high as Villa want when it comes to negotiations.
“It’s a tough one – it’s hard to put a number on it. We’re talking £50million or £60million,” Hutton told Villa News.
“I know Martinez has been rushed into the spotlight with everything going on and winning the World Cup.
“But he’s been outstanding, there’s no getting away from that. And I don’t think Villa would budge on any kind of low offer because they would need to go and reinvest.
“Is that a figure I think Tottenham would go to for a goalkeeper? Probably not.
“It’s a little bit too rich so it’ll be interesting to see if there are any offers. But it would have to be a high one.”
On 3 March, 90min reported that Tottenham see Martinez as a potential replacement for Hugo Lloris in the summer transfer window.
In other Aston Villa news, here’s Hutton’s predicted line-up to play against West Ham on Sunday.