Going into the final day, it is very much all to play for if you're an Aston Villa supporter.
Last Friday night, the Villans beat Tottenham 2-0 at Villa Park, thanks to second-half goals from Ezri Konsa and then Boubacar Kamara.
Aston Villa last ten league finishes (timeless)
This means, having won eight of their last nine Premier League games, Unai Emery's team sit sixth, outside the coveted Champions League spots by virtue of goal difference.
Nevertheless, they could still gatecrash the top five with victory over Manchester United on Sunday, if just one of Chelsea fail to win at Nottingham Forest, Newcastle fail to beat Everton or Manchester City lose at Fulham comes to pass simultaneously.
Those bedecked in claret and blue heading to Old Trafford on Sunday will need their transistor radios at the ready, but could this turn out to be a final Villa appearance for one of the club's most beloved figures?
The latest on Emi Martínez's Villa future
According to widespread reports, including from Mick Brown of Football Insider, goalkeeper Emi Martínez is expected to leave Aston Villa this summer.
Emiliano-Martinez-Aston-VIlla
Speaking on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, Dan Bardell says "it looks like he's going to go", which he believes will be a "huge loss", describing the Argentine World Cup winner as "irreplaceable", while acknowledging that Villa have to sell a key player before 30 June to comply with Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
Numerous clubs are interested in his services.
Jacob Tanswell and Gregg Evans of the Athletic note Saudi Pro League 'interest', reports in Argentina note that Manchester United have 'made an offer', while Eduardo Burgos Rodríguez of AS claims that Atlético Madrid have begun 'informal inquiries'.
Since arriving from Arsenal for £20m in 2020, Martínez has made 211 appearances for the Claret and Blue Army, becoming an undisputed fans' favourite, also picking up back-to-back Yashin Trophies at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, being named the best goalkeeper in the world.
However, with the 32-year-old seemingly set to depart, could Villa actually recruit an upgrade?
Aston Villa's target to replace Martínez
According to a report by Birmingham Live, Aston Villa are 'interested' in signing Espanyol goalkeeper Joan García.
joan-garcia-arsenal
James McNicholas and David Ornstein of The Athletic document that Arsenal are also in the running to sign the 24-year-old Spaniard, who has a €25m (around £21m) release clause.
According to a report in Spain, this will plummet down to just £12.6m, if Blanquiazules are relegated on the final day of the La Liga season come Saturday evening.
How García could actually improve Aston Villa
Given this interest, could García actually be an upgrade on Martínez? Well, let's assess the numbers to find out.
Emi Martínez vs Joan García 2024/25 comparison
Statistics
Appearances
Minutes
Clean sheets
Goals conceded
Saves
Save %
Penalty saved %
Post-shot xG - goals conceded
Opposition crosses faced
% of crosses stopped
Pass completion %
Errors leading to an opposition shot
Average Sofascore Rating
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt, FBref.com and SofaScore
As the table outlines, Martínez and García's statistics are broadly very similar this season, which is certainly impressive from the Spaniard's point-of-view, considering his team are hovering just above the La Liga relegation zone.
García's save percentage is impressive, but the statistic that stands out the most is his post-shot xG - goals allowed figure of +7.1, which means he ranks tenth across all of Europe's top five leagues, or fourth if you remove Ligue 1 from the equation, behind only Nikola Vasilj (St. Pauli), Mile Svilar (Roma) and Finn Dahmen (Augsburg).
For context, Martínez is down in 104th when it comes to the same metric.
Analyst Ben Mattinson labels García "one of the highest potential goalkeepers in the world right now", elsewhere praising his "cross claiming" and "composure on the ball", assertions that are supported by the data.
Meantime, Sive Vishwa of Breaking the Lines backs him to become 'one of the best goalkeepers' of his generation, while Fintan O'Reilly of Total Football Analysis believes García has been the 'all-round best performing young goalkeeper' across Europe this season.
So, as much as Villa supporters adore Martínez, if they're able to replace him with a highly-rated shot-stopper, who is six years his junior, for a bargain fee, from a business point of view, this does make sense doesn't it?
zepiqueno-redmond-feyenoord Related
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He's a rising star.