Man Utd signed Senne Lammens on transfer deadline day, which meant Emiliano Martinez stayed at Aston Villa.
Unai Emery has spoken about Emi Martinez
Unai Emery has spoken about Emi Martinez(Image: Sky Sports)
Unai Emery has claimed Emiliano Martinez is "happy" to stay at Aston Villa after missing out on a transfer to Manchester United.
United considered the Premier League-proven Martinez in the final days of the summer window, but a breakthrough was eventually reached to sign first choice target Senne Lammens.
Lammens arrived from Royal Antwerp for £18.2million, plus add-ons, late on transfer deadline day.
However, Lammens is a long-term signing for the future and Ruben Amorim has already confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start against Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
Martinez wouldn't have needed time to settle in at Old Trafford, but United sources are convinced they made the right choice.
Emery omitted Martinez from Aston Villa's squad on the eve of deadline day, which hinted that he could be on the move, but the 33-year-old will remain in Birmingham this season.
Discussing Martinez at a press conference, Emery explained: “Everything that happens with players we have, maybe staying, maybe they were close to leaving, maybe other players were close to others or to join us. For me, it is normal, I understand it completely, everything.
“Staying here, Emi Martinez, it is good news, I am so, so happy. He is the best goalkeeper in the world and his commitment to Aston Villa is massive.
“He is always training to get his best and he is always respecting Aston Villa. It is not changing. Some circumstances happen, but everyone is happy, the energy today was very good.
“Emi is happy and he knows his challenge is with Aston Villa and his national team. He has a lot of challenges this year himself.
“I am excited and motivated and I am wishing to play the match tomorrow against Everton in a new stadium and they are playing very well.”
Amorim was asked about Lammens at his press conference and said: "We are really pleased. He is a goalkeeper with a lot of potential, I know we are in a moment where the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience.
"But also in the moment we have to look at the present but with a focus on the future, it’s a little bit of both. A guy with great potential, one more option to play and he will be ready.
"Sometimes you as a club, you try to see different options, sometimes you are able to do one option or another, we have an option that can give us different things in the moment but also has the potential to be our goalkeeper for a lot of years. That was our choice in the end.
"Altay is going to continue (in goal) because it’s a different league, a different country, different trainings, different ball, so we will try to maintain that. They will fight for the position. For this game, it is clear Altay will start."
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