(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Emiliano Martinez has revealed that an injury to his finger was the reason Juventus did not complete a move for him during the last transfer window. The goalkeeper had been a target for the Bianconeri after Liverpool made it clear that Alisson Becker would not be leaving the club in the summer.
Juventus were keen to sign the World Cup winner from Aston Villa, and Martinez was reportedly willing to make the move. However, several reports indicated that the two clubs could not reach an agreement, despite Villa having signed Zion Suzuki earlier in that transfer window.
A missed opportunity
Villa’s decision to sign Suzuki appeared to open the way for Juventus to pursue Martinez. Nevertheless, the Bianconeri did not complete the deal, and the goalkeeper instead joined Chelsea, where he has since been sidelined with injury and missed several matches for the Blues.
Martinez has now explained that the issue began before the World Cup, when he suffered a broken finger. The severity of the injury means that one of his fingers still cannot close completely, and he says this was the reason his proposed move to Juventus collapsed.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Martinez said: “The World Cup was over, I went on holiday and my finger hurt. I thought, ‘If I finished the World Cup, my finger was fine.’ I had an X-ray and it was broken in half again. And that’s where the move to a club (Juventus, ed.) fell through.”
Juventus move on
The goalkeeper’s explanation confirms that Juventus did not abandon their interest because of a lack of willingness to sign him. Instead, the discovery that the injury had worsened after the World Cup appears to have ended their pursuit before a transfer could be agreed.
Martinez’s comments suggest that Juventus were cautious about committing to a player whose fitness remained uncertain. With the goalkeeper now recovering at Chelsea, the Bianconeri’s decision not to proceed with the move appears to have been influenced by concerns over the long-term impact of his injury.
[
Aston Villa infuriates Martinez after denying him Juventus move](https://talkjuve.com/2026/08/04/aston-villa-infuriates-martinez-after-denying-him-juventus-move/)