Unai Emery revolution may have swung Emi Martinez transfer decision at Aston Villa – Sky Sports journalist
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports and The Athletic’s Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Dan Bardell believes Emi Martinez is far more likely to remain at Aston Villa this summer after witnessing the impact of Unai Emery’s revolution at Villa Park.
The Argentine shot-stopper, who won the Golden Glove as well as a World Cup winners medal in Qatar, has been linked with a move away from Villa Park this summer, with the likes of Italian giants Juventus already rumoured with his services. [Goal]
However, since then, Villa have registered a stunning run of form in the Premier League, rising from the bottom half of the table club into realistic contenders for European football next season.
Emery has rightly received his plaudits for the transformation, but Martinez has also been a key figure in the run that has seen Villa win six of their last seven games.
Since his victorious run beside Lionel Messi in Qatar, the 30-year-old has kept seven clean sheets from just 14 matches.
The 3-0 win against Bournemouth prior to the international break was the ex-Arsenal keeper’s 34th clean sheet from his first 100 games in claret and blue – a tally that broke the previous record held by legendary figure Mark Bosnich and former number one Brad Friedel.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Sky Sports and The Athletic’s Dan Bardell admitted that Martinez should now be considered one of the best goalkeepers in world football and that Villa’s sniff of European football will hopefully be enough to keep him at Villa Park beyond the summer.
“I’ve completely changed what I think about Emi Martinez,” he said.
“During the World Cup and in the January window, I was thinking there was absolutely no chance he would stay at Villa because he got a taster for winning things, and he would want to be playing on the big stage next season.
“I think his form was maybe a little bit patchy when he came back from the World Cup, but he’s back now to the Emi Martinez we saw during the World Cup and he should be considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and one that Villa are very lucky to have.
“But you listen to him talk, and the way he talks about the club, this is a man of integrity and I don’t think he would be talking about Villa in the way he is if he didn’t intend to stay.
“It’s clear he wants Villa to be in Europe, I think that’s what is probably driving him at the moment.
“I think Martinez knows something special is about to happen at Villa under Unai Emery, and I think he will want to be a part of it.”
If any of Europe’s elite hope to lure Martinez away from Villa Park, it would certainly require a significant outlay.
The Argentine’s contract with Aston Villa ties him down until 2027, and considering the club’s ambitious hierarchy and determined manager, it would take quite some offer to prise Martinez this summer.
In other Aston Villa news, the club’s academy staff have been slammed over a Phil Foden nickname.