Emi Martinez’s Aston Villa future clarified after surprise U-turn
Aston Villa fans have been unsure about Emi Martinez’s future for most of the summer.
At one point, Martinez looked destined to leave Villa Park. He said an emotional goodbye to Villa fans at the back end of last season, and that was interpreted as a final show of appreciation to the supporters.
Manchester United were the favourites to sign Martinez, although speculation about that transfer has now died down.
Martinez has been used in Villa’s recent pre-season friendlies, suggesting that there is no imminent transfer on the cards.
At this point, it would be a huge boost if Villa were able to hold onto their goalkeeper throughout the rest of the transfer window.
Martinez looks set to remain at Aston Villa after transfer U-turn
Several clubs were linked with a move for Martinez, but Manchester United were the only team to make a concrete offer.
Now the Red Devils have cooled their interest, Martinez looks set to remain at Villa Park for the first part of the Premier League season at least.
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Marca reports that both Villa manager Unai Emery and Martinez are happy for him to stay.
Villa reportedly always wanted to keep the Argentine number one, and his pre-season performances suggest he’s ready to maintain the same level of consistency this season.
Aston Villa need a few more signings to stand a real chance of Champions League qualification
Aston Villa fans were fearing the worst earlier in the summer.
Back in July, several first-team players were linked with exits as it was believed Villa needed to raise money to avoid breaking Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Martinez was one of the players most heavily linked with an exit, but no big-name departures were finalised.
- Morgan Rogers wasn’t sold to Arsenal
- Villa issued a hands-off warning to clubs pursuing Ollie Watkins
- Boubacar Kamara was even handed a new five-year contract
The worrying transfer rumours all turned out to be myths. Villa have kept hold of all their biggest stars.
However, they may still need a couple of big-name signings to give themselves a real shot of qualifying for the Champions League next year.
Emery still looks short of options in attack, and he’ll surely be looking to add some wingers and strikers to his squad in the coming weeks.
With a couple of proven attackers brought in, Villa fans will feel far more confident of enjoying a productive season.
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