Football
Exclusive: Manchester United on the Verge of £25m Emiliano Martinez Signing to Solve Goalkeeping Crisis
Manchester United is expected to make a £25million bid for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez on the final day of the transfer window. The World Cup winner is desperate to join United, who have been plagued by goalkeeping problems, with Onana and Bayindir making costly errors. Martinez has played 197 Premier League games and is likely to join on a permanent deal after Villa rejected an initial loan move. United are also interested in Senne Lammens but Martinez is their first-choice target.
Brentford v Aston Villa - Premier League by Vince Mignott/MB Media | Getty Images
Manchester United have made a £25million move for Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez today on the final day of the summer transfer window, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The Red Devils have been plagued with goalkeeping problems, with both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir having made a string of high-profile mistakes during the past 12 months.
Cameroon international Onana has not started a league game for United this season with speculation growing over an imminent move away from Old Trafford.
And Turkey international shot-stopper Bayindir has already made a bad error this season which cost his side defeat against Arsenal in their opening fixture of the new Premier League season.
It was even rumoured at one stage that under-fire boss Ruben Amorim would stick 39-year-old Tom Heaton, the club’s third-choice keeper respectively, between the posts with errors costing his side dear.
FINAL STRAW
And a woeful 12-11 penalty shootout loss to League Two Grimsby Town last week was believed to the final straw for Portuguese boss Amorim and some of the club’s hierarchy.
Onana started that game against the Mariners and promptly conceded twice in the first 30 minutes as the North East seaport club stunned the 13-time Premier League champions.
Our sources have learnt that Villa’s World Cup winner Martinez is desperate to join United this summer.
And the experienced 32-year-old Argentina international, a two-time FIFA goalkeeper of the year, is likely to join on a permanent deal after Villa rejected an initial loan move for the player earlier this summer.
Martinez, who has played 197 Premier League games, appeared to say farewell to the Villa fans in the final game of last season, but he started Villa’s second game of the season, a 1-0 away defeat to Brentford having missed the club’s opening game against Newcastle United, with boss Unai Emery having chosen Dutch keeper Marco Bizot to start instead.
United are also interested in Royal Antwerp keeper Senne Lammens, but Martinez is understood to be the club’s first-choice target.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.