“Gerrard wants..“: Journo drops teasing transfer claim, AVFC supporters surely buzzing - opinion

Aston Villa picked up a healthy cash injection during the previous summer transfer window when they sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City in a record deal worth £100m.

Now that the next summer window is on the horizon, it seems as though a clue has emerged over the future of another key figure at the Midlands club in terms of a potential move away from Villa Park.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez and the possibility of him leaving the club in the summer.

He 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.”

Villa signed the shot-stopper back in the 2020 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Arsenal in a deal worth a reported fee of £17m.

Since then, the Argentine has become a significant figure for the club as their number one goalkeeper, making 70 appearances across all competitions.

In those appearances, the 29-year-old has managed to keep 25 clean sheets.

Having won the Supporters’ Player of the Season award at the end of his debut campaign at the Midlands club, this shows just what a great signing he has been.

To highlight how crucial he was for the Villans last season, only Nick Pope (77%) ended the campaign with a higher save percentage than the former Arsenal goalkeeper (76.8%).

Taking this into account and the fact that he’s made a total of 76 saves in 31 league games this time around, it