There’s a race to sign World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez as three Premier League clubs are apparently hoping to nab the goalkeeper from Aston Villa this summer.
Last year, Martinez signed a five-year contract with Villa which would see the Argentinean No.1 tied to the top-flight club until 2027.
However, that hasn’t stopped three top-tier teams from chasing the 30-year-old’s signature, and hoping that he will join their ranks when the transfer window opens this summer.
According to TyC Sports, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur are all interested in snapping up Martinez.
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However, a Martinez move depends on whether he decides to bow out from his Villa contract early.
The rumour that United could be interested in Martinez comes as David de Gea’s future hangs in the balance, as he is still yet to sign a new contract at Old Trafford.
Chelsea is reportedly looking for alternative options, as the club wants to bolster their goalkeeping roster for next season.
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However, it seems like Spurs is the front-runner in the race for the World Cup winner as Hugo Lloris is currently out with injury, and there’s speculation that he could be joining the Saudi Pro League (SPL) next season.
Therefore it’s thought that the North London team will be hoping to lure Martinez away from Birmingham next season.
According to the Mirror, the former Arsenal keeper's Aston Villa exit could be prompted by his seemingly-rocky relationship with head honcho, Unai Emery.
Last year, the 30-year-old mocked Paris Saint-Germain striker, Kylian Mbappe after the Argentina vs France FIFA World Cup final in Qatar, and also made lewd gestures on-stage with his Golden Glove Award.
Upon Martinez’s return to the midlands, Emery told the press that he would address the behaviour the goalkeeper showed at the World Cup.
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Then in February, Emery revealed that he was unhappy with the Villa keeper after he scored an own goal in the dying minutes of a match against Arsenal.
The keeper went up for a corner which allowed Gunner’s forward Gabriel Martinelli to breeze through and put the ball into an empty Villa net.
After the 4-2 defeat Emery said: “He decided himself to go up. They are the protagonists but I told him I don’t like it.
“I told him that maybe [goalkeepers] can score in the history one or two times, there’s more goals against you. [We] wasted more time than I want,” he added.
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Martinez arrived at Villa in 2020 and said his plan was to beat Mark Bosnich’s clean sheets record.
He previously told GOAL: “I’ve always got targets, I have targets in my locker. Mark Bosnich got 64 clean sheets so that’s a target.
“Obviously I’ve got four and a half more years at the club and 32 clean sheets in two-and-a-half years so I am looking to break his record and be the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in Villa history,” Martinez claimed.
Topics: Emiliano Martinez, Argentina, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Tottenham Hotspur
Ella Scott