John Victor is attracting strong interest from Aston Villa and Man Utd.placeholder image
John Victor is attracting strong interest from Aston Villa and Man Utd. | AFP via Getty Images
The 29-year-old is hoping to play for Brazil at next summer’s World Cup
Aston Villa have expressed a strong interest in signing an in-form Brazilian goalkeeper this summer.
Football Insider claims Unai Emery is keeping tabs on Botafogo goalkeeper John Victor after learning of a bargain £6m release clause which has been inserted into the former Brazil Under-17 international’s contract.
Victor excelled for Botafogo at the Club World Cup and won plenty of plaudits over the course of four games as he helped the Rio de Janeiro based outfit progress from a group containing eventual finalists Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Seattle Sounders before eventually being eliminated by league rivals Palmeiras in the round-of-16.
Why Aston Villa are interested in John Victor
Football Insider reports that John Victor is attracting interest from the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester United after a stellar individual campaign in South America which has left him on the verge of receiving his first ever senior Brazil call-up under the management of new boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Victor helped Botafogo win Brazil’s Serie A and the Copa Libertadores last year, while making the Team of the Tournament for both competitions.
He’s made 80 appearances in total for Botafogo across all competitions, conceding just 66 times and keeping 33 clean sheets. Prior to that, he had spells with the likes of Santos and Internachional in Brazil, with his only spell in Europe coming with Real Valladolid in 2023/24 when he played 11 games in the second tier of Spain during a brief loan spell.
Victor’s form over the last 18 months has led to many experts claiming that he’s ready to play in the Premier League although it’s likely that any approach for the Brazilian will depend largely on Emi Martinez’s long-term future at Villa Park.
Birmingham World understands Villa are already closing in on a move for Marco Bizot from Ligue 1 side Stade Brest. The Netherlands international is expected to replace Robin Olsen who was released at the end of last season.
What next for Emiliano Martinez?
Emiliano Martinez left the pitch in tears at the end of Aston Villa’s final home game as they claimed a key victory over Tottenham. This fuelled speculation that the Argentine would leave the club amid reports of interest from the Saudi Pro League and most notably Manchester United.
It was reported earlier in the summer that Villa would seek a figure of around £40m to reluctantly sell Martinez and ease their PSR concerns. However, talk of the World Cup winner leaving the club has since gone quiet throughout July.
With Manchester United showing interest in John Victor, it is possible that Ruben Amorim will bring him in as a cheaper alternative to Martinez to eventually usurp Andre Onana in the starting line-up.
Similarly, if Villa were to sign John Victor, it could suggest that they are planning for a future without the former Arsenal goalkeeper. At this stage, Martinez’s future is uncertain although he’s known to be a player of high value to Unai Emery as the Spaniard looks to get Villa back into Champions League contention again next term.
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