Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has emerged as a Chelsea transfer option for the final stages of the summer window
Emiliano Martinez during an Argentina game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Emiliano Martinez could sign for Chelsea from Aston Villa in the last few days of the summer transfer window(Image: (Photo by Tullio Puglia - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images))
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Chelsea have been offered the chance to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, football.london understands. The Argentine is free to depart in the final week of the summer transfer window with the Blues considering a late move after talks with his camp.
Xabi Alonso kicked off his tenure in charge with a 3-2 win over Fulham on Monday evening. Chelsea were lightning in attack but looked suspect defensively with Robert Sanchez making errors for both goals.
The Colombian failed to deal with Josh King's shot from a tight angle toward the centre of the goal as the ball squirmed under his body. In the second half, Gonzalo Garcia scored a rebound after he failed to deal with Timothy Castagne's strike from distance.
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Chelsea were subsequently told by Gary Neville that Sanchez may be an issue going forward and that Martinez should be looked at if he is available.
He said: "They've added experienced players in key positions, I don't know if Emi Martinez is available but someone like that needs to come in.
"That will undermine everything they do. Everything positive for Fulham came through Sanchez giving them the goal, their best periods after the goals and both were poor mistakes. He's patting him on the back but it's a problem.
"When you're managing a football club, you have to make some ruthless decisions. They've strengthened all over the football pitch, they brought brilliant players in.
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"You cannot take a chance with a goalkeeper, it's the one that carries the most scrutiny. In the next seven or eight days, Xabi Alonso may have to make a decision that he needs to bring in an experienced goalkeeper."
When asked if he and Sanchez had spoken about Monday night, Alonso said: "No, normal conversations. We have talked more about the team thing, about what we did well and what we have to do better.
Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso
Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso offered a new Robert Sanchez verdict after his errors against Fulham
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"It was more about understanding the context. Every game is going to be important because we are in this process that we still need to develop things, we need to make adjustments that are more team-related."
Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix were the new signings who started at Craven Cottage with Pep Chavarria and Geovany Quenda coming off the bench.
Martinez became available after Villa agreed to sign Zion Suzuki from Parma with the 33-year-old initially in talks to join Juventus. However, that deal collapsed over the fee with the Italian club instead signing Guglielmo Vicario on loan from Tottenham.