Manchester United are reportedly plotting a summer raid on Premier League rivals Aston Villa for the signing of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
According to a report from Football Insider, Manchester United are set to launch an offer for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Martinez, 28, joined Villa only last year, after bringing an end to his decade-long association with former club Arsenal. Having been overlooked in favour of Bernd Leno despite playing a key role in their FA Cup success last term, the Argentine decided to move on and has been a huge hit at the Villa Park in his debut campaign.
So far in 2020/21, Martinez has featured 30 times in the Premier League, shipping in just 33 goals while keeping a total of 14 clean sheets in the process. Only Manchester City’s Ederson Moraes (17) has managed more shut-outs than the Aston Villa shot-stopper this season, with Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy level with the 28-year-old on 14.
In addition, Martinez has also made the fourth-highest number of saves in the Premier League this term (113), playing a key role in Villa’s ascendancy from being relegation battlers last season to vying for a top-six finish. And his brilliance for the Midlands club has led to interest in his services from Manchester United.
The Red Devils seem to be planning a major overhaul of their goalkeeping department heading into the summer transfer window. Dean Henderson has been seemingly installed as the first-choice at Manchester United now with David de Gea dropping down to No. 2. And the club are open to offloading the Spanish international at the end of the season for a transfer fee of around £50 million.
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In addition to that, Sergio Romero, Lee Grant and Joel Pereira, who is currently out on loan at Huddersfield Town, will all see their contracts expire. So, there will be signings made in the goalkeeping department – at least one if not two.
A move for former academy man Sam Johnstone has been mooted of late with his current club West Bromwich Albion headed for relegation. However, Martinez is also firmly on their radar with an Aston Villa source revealing to Football Insider that the club is expecting a monster offer for the 28-year-old in the upcoming transfer window.
However, it is unlikely to see Martinez making the jump to Manchester United given as he left Arsenal to be a first-team regular but at Old Trafford he would again be competing for places with Henderson.
