Aston Villa could offer Juventus the chance to sign a player who's fallen out with manager Unai Emery, coming after Inter Milan were given the opportunity too.
Aston Villa prepare for potentially season-defining month
The next two weeks could define Aston Villa's entire season.
Three games, each carrying serious weight, will tell Emery a great deal about where his side stand as they attempt to maintain the Champions League conversation.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery during the match -3
Thursday's Europa League last-16 first leg against Lille in France comes first, followed swiftly by Sunday's trip to Old Trafford, where Villa and Man United are locked together on points in the battle for a top four place.
Then it is West Ham at Villa Park on March 22 — a home game that, on paper, looks the most winnable of the three but arrives at the end of a bruising run that will have taken its toll.
Villa currently sit fourth in the Premier League, and the top four is still firmly in their hands, but a stumble across this run of games would leave the door wide open for the clubs queuing behind them.
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The Villans are very keen.
Off the pitch, however, it is not only the fixture list that threatens to disrupt the mood at Villa Park.
Emi Martinez offered to Inter and Juve after Unai Emery fall out
According to Italian outlet Calciomercato.it, and journalist Raffaele Amato, Emiliano Martínez could be heading for the exit door at the end of the season, with his name already being circulated among Serie A's elite.
Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez celebrates after Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins scores a goal before it was disallowed following a VAR review
The report states that Martinez was recently offered to Inter Milan as a potential replacement for Yann Sommer, whose contract with the Nerazzurri expires in the summer.
Inter ultimately passed on the Argentine, with their hierarchy reluctant to invest in a goalkeeper of his age and salary profile.
Martinez apparently earns in excess of £2.5 million net per season, and Inter's ownership structure at has placed firm limits on outgoings for players who cannot generate future resale value.
The same logic applies at other clubs, but Calciomercato.it reports that Martinez could now be offered to Juventus as an alternative option.
Juve are in the market for a number one after losing faith in both Michele Di Gregorio and Mattia Perin, with Atalanta's Marco Carnesecchi their primary target. Martinez would represent a fallback — an experienced, high-profile option with Champions League pedigree and the kind of big-game temperament that Juventus could use.
The 2022 World Cup winner built his global reputation at the tournament in Qatar and has been one of the Premier League's most reliable keepers since joining Villa.
Aston Villa's Emi Martinez
His contract at Villa Park runs until 2029, meaning any departure would require a meaningful transfer fee rather than a straightforward exit.
The key detail buried in the Italian report is the suggestion that Martinez has 'fallen out' with Emery.
The nature of that rift is not spelled out, but the implication is clear enough — the relationship between manager and goalkeeper has deteriorated to the point where a summer separation is considered a realistic possibility.
That is a significant development for a club that has leaned so heavily on Martinez's presence and personality in recent seasons.
Adding further complexity is an ongoing FA investigation into claims that Martinez has been acting as a brand ambassador for BPlay, an Argentine sports betting company, for the past 18 months.
Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez celebrates after Donyell Malen scores their first goal
The FA takes a strict position on professional footballers promoting gambling, and the probe adds yet another layer of uncertainty around his future in English football.
Whether Villa want to sell, whether they are being pushed into it, or whether the whole story dissolves over the summer remains to be seen.
Martinez was close to leaving Aston Villa last summer, and it appears he's set to have another chance this year.
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He's been excellent at Craven Cottage.