Why Juventus' hopes of Emi Martinez deal are fading thanks to Aston Villa
Juventus appear to be on the verge of throwing in the towel regarding their pursuit of Aston Villa's Emi Martinez.
The 33-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Turin throughout the summer transfer window.
Because of this, many Aston Villa fans have been feeling largely resigned to losing their star goalkeeper.
However, despite recent reports of progress being made between Juventus and Martinez, the deal now appears to have stalled.
Should Martinez leave the West Midlands, Unai Emery will no doubt be looking to sign his replacement.
But the Spaniard may be set to cross that task off his summer transfer to-do list thanks to a fresh update from Italy.
Aston Villa's Emi Martinez transfer stance revealed
Just when Martinez's transfer saga appeared to be moving towards a clear ending, a fresh plot twist has been written.
Villa News has covered Martinez seemingly asking Johan Manzambi if he was bound for B6 after Argentina's World Cup win over Switzerland.
Now it appears as though this may not have been a case of Martinez simply being nosey, but rather getting an inside scoop on potential new Villains comrade.
That's because a report from Italian news outlet Tuttosport has claimed that Aston Villa don't seem keen to lower their asking price for Martinez, which the same outlet have previously reported to be around €10m euros (£8.5m).
Juventus are still said to have some remaining hope of getting a deal done, but that they wouldn't be willing to part with any significant fee for the soon-to-be 34-year-old.
As a result, a number of alternatives have been listed for Juve, with Tottenham's Guglielmo Vicario, Liverpool's Alisson and Parma's Zion Suzuki all mentioned.
And, whilst Juventus are one of Europe's biggest and most recognisable clubs, it probably isn't the once obvious step up for Martinez that it would've previously been.
Juventus are clinging on to Serie A powerhouse reputation
A 36-time Serie A winner, 20-time runner-up and two-time Champions League victors; Juventus' achievements speak for themselves.
Those are achievements of the past though, with their last Champions League trophy being in 1996, and they haven't won Serie A since they were crowned champions in the 2019-20 season respectively.
Luciano Spalletti guided them to a sixth-placed finish last season, and since that aforementioned title win in 2020, they haven't placed higher than third in the following six campaigns.
And whilst they appear to be a club on the decline, Aston Villa are very much the opposite, as proven by their second fourth-placed Premier League finish in the space of three years last term.
Champions League football awaits Villa Park next season, but the same can't be said in Turin, as Juve have qualified for the Europa League.
Contracted with the Villains until 2029, if Martinez wants to enjoy the best chance of success and silverware during the twilight years of his career, he may well be better served staying in the West Midlands rather than a switch to Juventus.