Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media

James Barker

Sat 30 May 2026 13:40, UK

Aston Villa are reportedly lining up a move for Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas, as question marks over Emi Martinez‘s future remain.

Despite being contracted with Aston Villa until the summer of 2029, there has been significant talk of Martinez moving on from Villa Park in recent times.

He almost completed a move to Manchester United last summer, whilst reports have also mooted the possibility of him desiring a return to Argentina.

Either way, Unai Emery is faced with the growing possibility that he will need a new number one shot-stopper in the near future, and plans appear to be in place over sorting that out.

Ahead of the summer transfer window officially opening, the Villans have been credited with an interest in one European football’s best-performing goalkeepers from last season.

Aston Villa register transfer interest in Moritz Nicolas

Martinez has been tipped to leave Villa after the World Cup, which if that turns out to be correct, it does at least give the Villans time to source his successor.

The Argentine’s gloves will be big ones to fill, as the 33-year-old has established himself as one of the top keepers in world football during his time in the West Midlands.

Villa have been casting a wide net in search of talent recently, with only three (Jadon Sancho, Harvey Elliott and Victor Lindelof) of their 10 signings in 2025-26 being brought in from or having been released by English clubs.

They may well be looking to repeat that trend this summer too, as Sky Germany reporter Patrick Berger has claimed that Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Nicolas is a player Aston Villa have registered an interest in.

It’s reported that the 28-year-old has a release clause in his contract that would allow him to sign for a top-five Bundesliga side for €10-15million euros, but that doesn’t apply to Premier League teams.

🚨⚫️🟢 Gladbach-Keeper Moritz Nicolas (28/🇩🇪) hat nach Sky Infos eine Ausstiegsklausel, die für diesen Sommer gültig ist. Top-5-Klubs können sie ziehen. Liegt bei €10-15m, wobei Vereine aus der Premier League €15m zahlen müssten. 🐎

Aston Villa hatte zuletzt Interesse…

— Patrick Berger (@berger_pj) May 28, 2026

Instead, Villa would reportedly have to pay €15m/£13m, but that doesn’t look to have put the Villans off from making a move for him.

Nicolas rivals Thibaut Courtois in key goalkeeping stat

Clean sheets are the foundation to any successful defensive unit, and that’s something that Aston Villa are hoping to continue building over the coming years.

2025-26 wasn’t a particularly impressive season for Borussia Monchengladbach, as they could only finish 12th in the Bundesliga, two places below their 10th-placed campaign of 2024-25.

Despite that, Nicolas was one of the very best goalkeepers in the German top flight last term, with only Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel (15) keeping more clean sheets than his 13 respectively.

クラブ年間最優秀選手のベストプレー集！🧤🎥#ボルシアMG pic.twitter.com/69SbPsNXrg

— Gladbach🇯🇵 (@borussia_jp) May 29, 2026

That number put him in esteemed shot-stopping company for this past season too, with Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois also keeping 13 clean sheets in La Liga.

As outlined via Transfermarkt, there was only two other keepers outside of those two in Europe’s top five leagues that kept an equal number of clean sheets: Lille’s Berke Ozer and Atalanta’s Marco Carnesecchi respectively.

Not bad going at all, and a clear indication that Nicolas would be a quality signing and worthy Martinez successor if he makes the move to Villa Park this summer.