The latest on Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as Manchester United agree a major transfer.
Emi Martinez will not be heading to Man Utd as the Red Devils have reportedly reached a full agreement to sign Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens instead.
United agreed personal terms with Martinez on Sunday and the World Cup winner has been pushing hard for a move to Old Trafford. Ruben Amorim’s side are now expected to bring in Lammens instead, however, in what is a significant twist to an already complex saga.
The Athletic has exclusively revealed that Man Utd have ‘agreed a deal’ to sign Lammens for a fee of €21 million (£18.2m) plus add-ons. The 23-year-old goalkeeper is on his way to Manchester, where he will conduct his medical tests and sign a five-year contract.
To complicate matters further, Lammens was a target for Villa to replace Martinez, with a deal reportedly agreed with Antwerp earlier today. Now that United are proceeding with their move for Lammens, Villa are thought to no longer be in the race.
Where will Emi Martinez go? Could he now stay at Aston Villa?
The latest on Emiliano Martinez's future as Manchester United hijack Aston Villa's swoop for Senne Lammens.placeholder image
The latest on Emiliano Martinez's future as Manchester United hijack Aston Villa's swoop for Senne Lammens. | Getty Images
What’s going to happen with Martinez now, then? Well, it’s a very awkward situation as Birmingham World understands that the Argentine made it very clear he wanted to join United, but that move is no longer on.
Unai Emery decided not to include Martinez in Villa’s matchday squad for the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday night as the goalkeeper wasn’t in the right headspace. Emery then admitted during his post-match press conference: “We need the players focused and 100 per cent. He was not.”
Staying at Villa is very much a possibility as talks are not advanced with any other clubs at this stage. A move to the Saudi Pro League was touted earlier in the transfer window, but that never developed. Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano reports Martinez has been ‘discussed with Galatasaray in recent hours’, so that might be an avenue that’s explored.
Even if Martinez does stay, it feels like it could be very tricky for the Argentina international to get the fans back on board. It’s a sensitive state of affairs and it’s all Martinez’s own doing.
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