Aston Villa: Gerrard desperate to keep £28.8m star at Villa Park

Aston Villa have “no plans” to sell goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to Juventus this summer, according to transfer insider Pete O’Rourke.

The Argentine has recently been linked with a move to the Italian giants, but O’Rourke says he is someone who the Midlands club want to keep and build around.

According to TyC Sports, Massimiliano Allegri has asked Juventus to sign Martinez in the next transfer window.

The same report states that Allegri is not convinced with Wojciech Szczesny’s recent performances, hence his interest in Martinez.

The 29-year-old, however, only signed a new long-term contract in January, so getting him out of Villa Park is unlikely to be an easy task.

His new deal does not expire until 2027, meaning that Villa are under no pressure to sell this summer.

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O’Rourke has told GIVEMESPORT that Villa have no intention of selling Martinez and that it would take serious money to snatch him away from the Premier League outfit in the upcoming transfer window.

Speaking to GMS, the football journalist said: “He’s on that long-term contract. He’s on a good deal at Aston Villa as well wages wise, so it would have to take big, big money to try and prise him away from Villa.

“I think Villa have no plans to let him go, either. They want to keep him and sort of build around the likes of Martinez going forward because Steven Gerrard wants to have a really competitive team.”

Absolutely not. The £28.8m-rated Argentina international has been a revelation at Villa Park since arriving from Arsenal back in 2020.

Last season, Martinez managed to keep 15 clean sheets in the Premier League, which was only bettered by Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy (16)