Chelsea Considers Emiliano Martinez Amid Robert Sanchez Concerns
Chelsea have opened the door to a move for Emiliano Martinez, sounding out the Aston Villa goalkeeper’s camp as doubts grow over Robert Sanchez’s grip on the No 1 shirt at Stamford Bridge.
The Argentina international, 33, is regarded as available for transfer after Villa brought in Japan’s Zion Suzuki from Parma for about £30m earlier this month. Suzuki’s arrival has shifted the goalkeeping hierarchy at Villa Park and, in turn, jolted the market.
Chelsea are watching closely.
A busy trading route
The two clubs have become one of the Premier League’s most active trading corridors. This summer alone, Chelsea smashed their own transfer record to prise forward Morgan Rogers from Villa for £117m, while Alejandro Garnacho went the other way on an initial loan.
Striker Nicolas Jackson, valued at around £65m, is another name on the table. A move to Villa would reunite him with Unai Emery, the coach who helped shape his breakthrough at Villarreal and knows exactly how to use his pace and movement.
Their relationship has already produced some of the window’s most talked-about deals. The clubs were central to a transaction widely labelled a “PSR swap”, with defender Ian Maatsen heading to Villa and Omari Kellyman – now at Strasbourg – joining Chelsea.
Now a World Cup-winning goalkeeper could be the next piece in that puzzle.
Martinez on the market
Juventus tried to strike first. The Italian side pushed to sign Martinez earlier in the window, only for the move to fall apart over concerns about a finger injury. With the deal dead, Juve turned instead to Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario, taking the Italian on loan.
That decision leaves Martinez still at Villa, but with his future open. For a club chasing stability in goal and accustomed to big spending, Chelsea’s interest feels inevitable.
Spotlight on Sanchez
The timing is no coincidence. Sanchez’s early-season form has invited scrutiny.
In the opening Premier League fixture at Fulham, the Spaniard was beaten at his near post by Josh King’s angled strike. Later in the same game he spilled another effort into a dangerous area, allowing Gonzalo Garcia to pounce. Chelsea escaped Craven Cottage with a 3-2 win, but the errors lingered longer than the scoreline.
Manager Xavi Alonso stood by his goalkeeper in public after the match, and again when pressed ahead of Thursday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Luton Town at Stamford Bridge.
No, (we have had) normal conversations,” Alonso said when asked if Sanchez needed special attention. “We have talked more about the team thing, about what we did well and what we have to do better.
It was more about understanding the context. Every game is going to be important because we are in this process that we still need to develop things, we need to make adjustments that are more team-related.”
The words were calm. The backdrop is anything but.
Penders waits in the wings
Behind Sanchez, Mike Penders is pushing. The 24-year-old returned in the summer from a successful loan at Strasbourg and has quietly built a case for more minutes.
Alonso hinted that the Carabao Cup could open that door.
He’s in the squad, so he has an opportunity,” the Chelsea head coach said. “We will decide and give the team to the players tomorrow, so I prefer to expect that they know first.”
If Penders starts against Luton, it will be framed as rotation. If Martinez talks advance, it will look like something more.
Chelsea have rarely hesitated to be ruthless in key positions. With Villa open for business and a World Cup winner potentially on the move, how long will they wait before turning interest into a bid?
