Chelsea have agreed to a deal to sign Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez from Aston Villa for a fee of £7.5 million ($10.2m), sources confirmed to ESPN’s James Olley.
The 33-year-old will move to Stamford Bridge on a two-year deal, sources said, bringing to an end his six-year stay at Villa.
ESPN reported on Wednesday that Chelsea had been offered the chance to sign Martínez by his representatives and things accelerated quickly to finalise a deal for the goalkeeper, who will likely become the club’s No. 1.
Villa signed Japan international Zion Suzuki earlier in the transfer window and had been looking to offload Martínez. A proposed move to Juventus fell through earlier in August.
Chelsea’s goalkeeping situation has been under renewed scrutiny following Robert Sánchez’s poor performance in Monday’s 3-2 win against Fulham when he was badly at fault in allowing a tame shot from Josh King to squeeze through him.
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It had been hoped that 19-year-old Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders, who spent last season on loan at Strasbourg and made his first-team debut against Luton in the Carabao Cup on Thursday, would eventually prove able to step up and challenge Sánchez for the No. 1 shirt.
However, the possibility of signing an established Premier League keeper and an experienced international presents obvious advantages for a club looking to challenge for the title this season, and Chelsea have opted to move.
Martínez was a key part of the Argentina team that won the World Cup in 2022 and finished runners-up to Spain at the tournament this summer.
Sánchez’s performances have been an issue that has haunted successive Chelsea managers.
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Mauricio Pochettino dropped him as his No. 1in 2024, preferring the relatively untested Serbia international Djordje Petrovic, while Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior also left him out for periods in repose to poor form.
Villa have been open to selling Martínez, who joined from Arsenal for £17 million in 2020, as they look to lower the average age of their squad.
Villa, who were hammered 4-0 by Brighton last weekend in their Premier League opener, will now head into their home match against defending champions Arsenal on Monday without arguably their five star players from last season’s Europa League-winning campaign: Martínez, center back Ezri Konsa, midfielders Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers and striker Ollie Watkins.
Konsa, the England international, has joined Arsenal; Rogers and Tielemans have moved to Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively; and Watkins is reportedly off to Saudi Arabia, having yet to feature so far this season. Left back Lucas Digne also left to join Paris Saint-Germain.
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Villa are reportedly close to signing Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea as a replacement for Watkins, while Johan Manzambi was signed from Freiburg off the back of a starring role for Switzerland at the World Cup but is currently out injured.
“This problem [losing players during the summer] we had every season and every season we overcame it,” Villa manager Unai Emery said Thursday. “It’s something we have to accept and always we reacted, especially the players.
“This is something hard for us every year but we are calm.”
PA and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
