Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are both showing interest in Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
Martinez hinted he is set to leave Villa Park after breaking down in tears at the end of Villa’s final home game against Tottenham last Friday.
The 32-year-old has lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia, but sources close to Martinez say he would prefer to stay in Europe.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone is a big admirer of his fellow Argentinian while the World Cup winner has also been on United’s radar for some time.
Any move to Old Trafford would be reliant on the Red Devils managing to offload Andre Onana for a fee, with the Red Devils prioritising other positions.
Villa have put a £40million price tag on Martinez, who signed a new deal last August to keep him at the club until 2029.
The Champions League-chasing club is anticipated to make a significant sale before June 30 to remain in line with the Premier League’s spending rules.
The Argentina international moved to Villa Park from Arsenal in September 2020 for £17m and became an instant fan favourite when he saved a penalty on his debut against Sheffield United.
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It is one of four penalty saves Martinez has made in the Premier League, with his most recent coming during a 3-1 win for Villa away to Fulham earlier this season when he kept out Andreas Pereira’s spot kick attempt.
Martinez also came up clutch during a penalty shootout last term as he made two saves to help Villa beat Lille in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.
Aside from penalty shootouts, Martinez has been one of Villa’s best between the sticks and boasts 69 clean sheets from 211 appearances across all competitions.
His heroic exploits for club and country earned him the Yashin Trophy, the award given to the best goalkeeper in the world as part of the Ballon d’Or ceremony, in 2023 and 2024.
talkSPORT
