Manchester United were linked with multiple players from Aston Villa in the summer, but Gabby Agbonlahor reveals that he knows ‘for a fact’ that one of them was pushing for a move to Old Trafford.
It was a busy summer for Manchester United as Ruben Amorim welcomed five new players to the club, following a disappointing 2024/25 campaign, resulting in the Red Devils failing to qualify for Europe.
Two of the five recruits – Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha – arrived with Premier League experience.
That means Benjamin Sesko, Senne Lammens and Diego Leon all arrived having to settle into a completely different environment and adapt to the most difficult league in European football.
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United also missed out on players and decided against signing certain targets to prioritise others, such as Mbeumo, who was chosen ahead of multiple alternative options.
Viktor Gyokeres was linked with a move to United before signing for Premier League title-chasing Arsenal, while Liam Delap moved to Chelsea from Ipswich Town. Of course, it bodes well for United that neither of those players hit the ground running at their new clubs.
Emiliano Martinez playing against Everton
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Emiliano Martinez pushed hard for dream Man Utd transfer
United were reportedly interested in two Aston Villa players during the summer.
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Ollie Watkins was namechecked among striker options before United reached an agreement with RB Leipzig to sign Sesko.
Since then, the 30-year-old has scored seven goals in 22 games.
Watkins’ teammate Emiliano Martinez featured more heavily in the United gossip columns, though.
The Argentine goalkeeper was tipped to succeed Andre Onana as first-choice goalkeeper until United turned their attention towards Royal Antwerp stopper Lammens.
Although United fans are happy with Lammens, former United head coach Amorim wanted Martinez instead of the young Belgian.
Ex-Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor claims he knows that Martinez was desperate to sign for United, after accusing the World Cup-winner of doing more than flirting with the prospect of moving from Villa Park to Old Trafford.
“I know for a fact mate, that he did more than flirt,” Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT.
“He was desperate to go to Manchester United, desperate to go and it didn’t happen. A massive club.”
Agbonlahor went on to criticise Martinez after making a costly mistake in Villa’s defeat against Everton. He also claimed that the goalkeeper has struggled for consistency this season.
“With Martinez, the goal Everton scored, it was poor goalkeeping from him. He’s been inconsistent this season.”
Wes Brown believes Senne Lammens has a bright future at Man Utd
Wes Brown on Senne Lammens, quote
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Man Utd were right to sign Senne Lammens over Emiliano Martinez
Although Lammens has come into a United side struggling and leaking goals at the back, the 23-year-old has come away from a lot of games with credit in the bank.
Lammens is a far calmer presence than Onana, and his shot-saving ability is superior to that of the Cameroon stopper.
This season, however, has demonstrated a drop in Martinez’s performance levels for Villa.
For instance, no player in the Premier League has made more errors than Martinez (three) that have led to a goal.
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