Juventus have abandoned their pursuit of Emiliano Martinez and informed Aston Villa of their decision, citing the prohibitive cost of the deal.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus have cooled their interest in Emiliano Martinez after a period of concrete interest. The Bianconeri have informed Aston Villa of their decision to abandon the pursuit, citing the cost of doing a deal for the Argentine international.
Emiliano Martinez was tearful on the final home game of the 2024/25 season, which suggested he was ready to leave Aston Villa. Last summer, no move materialised despite some loose interest from elsewhere, and that story might repeat this time around, as everything now points to him playing for Unai Emery’s team for yet another campaign.
After the 2025/26 season ended, it was widely expected that Martinez would leave Villa for a new challenge. Earlier reports suggested that Villa were looking for replacements for the Argentine amid early links to Parma’s Zion Suzuki among other names, but that may have to be put on hold.
No Juventus move for Emiliano Martinez
Martinez expressed interest in joining Juventus earlier, and reports indicated the Serie A giants were advancing towards finding an agreement with Aston Villa. There were even suggestions that the goalkeeper had agreed personal terms with them, and a deal was widely expected to conclude at some stage of this window.
Recently, Juventus’s talks for Martínez reportedly hit an impasse, with the reasons unclear at that point. However, the Bianconeri have now completely abandoned their pursuit of the experienced goalkeeper and informed Villa of their decision while citing the prohibitive cost of doing a deal for the Argentine international.
Juventus have not yet confirmed whether they plan to sign a new goalkeeper or retain Michele Di Gregorio as their No. 1 heading into the new campaign. As for Villa, they will firmly expect Martinez to continue in the role if they cannot find another suitor in the time remaining in the current window.
Is this Martinez’s last major chance for a big move?
Martinez can be described as a late bloomer, given how late he became a key goalkeeper anywhere. After a long tenure with Arsenal, he finally broke through under Mikel Arteta but was sold to Aston Villa in a £17 million deal in 2020, months after establishing himself at the North London side. He has since gone on to make more than 250 appearances for the Birmingham side, winning the UEFA Europa League along the way.
He has seemingly been angling for a departure from Villa for a few years now, and it might be another summer when he ends up staying put. The 33-year-old still has a contract until 2029, although missing out on the move to Juventus might seem like a big opportunity lost, and it could also prove to be one of the final chances he gets to make a major career switch away from Villa.
