Emi Martinez obscene gesture ‘could propel Aston Villa exit’
Unai Emery has some big decisions to make this summer as he looks to continue with his impressive development of Aston Villa.
The Villans have had a solid season, showing real signs of progress. However, Emery’s have fallen short in each competition and now only have the Premier League top-five battle to play for.
Nevertheless, securing another season of European football would be massive for the West Midlands outfit and would allow them to continue pushing on next season.
Martinez could depart Aston Villa for Saudi Arabia
If Emery wants to see Villa’s success continue, then there will be some big decisions to be made in the summer transfer window.
One of the decisions to be made could be over goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who is reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Arabia ahead of the summer transfer window.
This would not be the first time that Villa have done business with Saudi sides, with Moussa Diaby and Jhon Duran both having made big money moves in recent windows.
It’s not yet known whether the West Midlands outfit are prepared to accept an offer, although it is set to be big money, which could help with PSR restrictions.
Furthermore, Ben Jacobs has claimed that Martinez’s previous behaviour – when performing an obscene gesture at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – could actually make a move even more enticing for Saudi clubs.
When asked live on talkSPORT (1 May, 6:38am) if his gesture when winning the World Cup, which resulted in a two game international ban, would be seen as too offensive to those in Saudi, Jacobs claimed it could work in his favour as he replied: “I think it was seen as offensive at the time but actually, because it was Qatar and this is Saudi, a fair amount of Saudis perhaps found it amusing and the idea that he was the best goalkeeper at a World Cup in Qatar and then Saudi can have the player is sort of seen as a coup as well because there will no doubt be interest from the Qatar Stars league as well.
“Where as four, five years ago when it was political, you had a blockade and Qatar and Saudi were politically at odds and now they’re more competitive and striving for the same names, trying to both be the best leagues and Saudi have already got a jump start now because they’ve put a lot of money behind their league so to get a World Cup winner, getting someone that made headlines in Qatar, bringing that personality to Saudi. I think a lot of executives in the Saudi Pro League would like that idea.”
Aston Villa could benefit from Martinez sale
There is no doubt that Martinez has been excellent for Aston Villa and has given plenty to the club, which he deserves credit for.
| Matches | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets |
| 208 | 256 | 66 |
However, he is now 32 years old and one of the highest earners at Villa Park, which could prompt his current side to take a big-money offer this summer.
It’s also fair to say that the Argentinian has not hit the same levels for Aston Villa this season as he has done in the past, having come under criticism after the 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday (26 April).
Joan Garcia has also been linked with a move to Aston Villa in the summer transfer window, which could suggest that Emery is looking for different options with the intention of offloading his current first choice.
Saudi offers can be tempting for both the players and clubs, and if they are keen to get their hands on the Villa goalkeeper, it could push an offer even further.