It was a deadline day to forget for Emiliano Martinez after he saw a move from Aston Villa to Manchester United collapse.
The Argentina international seemed to be heading for Old Trafford after sitting out of the 3-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday night.
However, despite Martinez waiting for Manchester United to call on deadline day, the Red Devils opted to sign Senne Lammens in an £18.2m move from Royal Antwerp instead.
Aston Villa have now sent Emiliano Martinez a pretty awkward message on X (previously known as Twitter) after the dramatic deadline day saga.
Innocent birthday message now has awkward feeling after Emiliano Martinez tried to leave Aston Villa
Funnily enough, today (Tuesday 2nd September) is the South American’s birthday, and it is now quite clear he wanted to spend it as a Manchester United player.
However, it was Aston Villa who instead wished Martinez a happy birthday at the crack of dawn on Tuesday, which will be a bittersweet feeling for the Argentine.
The 33-year-old still has a contract at Villa Park which runs until June 2029, so unless another club comes in for his services, now might be the time to rebuild some bridges in the Midlands.
Marco Bizot was signed to be a deputy for Martinez this season after the departure of Robin Olsen, and it remains to be seen whether Unai Emery opts to reintegrate the Aston Villa No.23 into the starting XI after his antics.
What Fabrizio Romano has said about Emiliano Martinez at Aston Villa
It does not appear as if Martinez has completely burned his bridges with Emery.
🚨🟣🔵 Aston Villa are happy to continue with Emi Martínez this season as NO exit is expected after Man United deal off.
Martínez not keen on Turkish league move and prepared to stay at Villa.
Man United opened talks but never sent an official bid. pic.twitter.com/jbtvL7FRGI
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 2, 2025
View Tweet
Fabrizio Romano claims Aston Villa are “happy to continue” with the man born in Mar del Plata this season, who himself is prepared to stay at Villa Park and is not looking to force a move elsewhere, with the transfer window still open in several other leagues.
However, seeing as Ruben Amorim now has Lammens, Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton in his goalkeeping department, a move to Old Trafford no longer looks possible for Martinez.