Aston Villa fans have right to fume with Emi Martinez amid Juventus latest
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez is reportedly a transfer target Juventus are considering this summer.
The 33-year-old is fresh off the back of another successful 2025-26 season with Aston Villa - his sixth with the club.
With six clean sheets from his 11 appearances in the competition, Martinez played a vital role in Unai Emery's side being able to lift the Europa League trophy in Istanbul.
Despite that, however, there have been continuous rumours circling over the last few months that Martinez may be ready to call time on his Villa Park career.
There has been talk over a return to his homeland of Argentina, for whom he's hoping to enjoy a successful defence of their World Cup title in North America this summer.
As painful as it would be to say goodbye to him, many Villans have and would accept his reasons for wanting to spend his twilight years back on home soil.
Juventus make Emi Martinez "priority target"
What they will have a far more difficult time accepting, however, is to see him join another European club.
However, according to a fresh report from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on X, Italian side Juventus want Martinez as a "priority target" this summer.
Romano reports that Juve's deal for Allison is now off, and that's taken the Serie A giants to Martinez's door.
Talks are claimed to have begun between the two parties over what a deal might look like regarding fees and contract demands, and whilst it would expensive, Juventus are said to remain keen.
Tottenham's Guglielmo Vicario is also credited as another potential option for Luciano Spalletti's side.
Why Juventus move would be step backwards for Martinez
In terms of success and worldwide standing, Juventus are a bigger football club than Aston Villa.
However, they certainly aren't a team from Argentina, nor are they a side better than the Villans right now.
Indeed, Spalletti's men finished sixth in Serie A last season, meaning that while Aston Villa will be contesting Champions League football, the Turin-based outfit are heading for the Europa League.
They haven't won Serie A since the 2019-20 season, and in the six campaigns since then they've finished fourth three times, seventh, third and sixth respectively.
A step up in reputation, perhaps. A step up in competition and standard of playing squad? Absolutely not.
Martinez has given so much delight to Aston Villa fans over the years, but they would have every right to be angry with him if he chose to leave them for this current Juventus side.