Chelsea consider late move for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez

Chelsea are considering a late move for Emiliano Martínez after opening discussions with the Aston Villa goalkeeper’s representatives, as Xabi Alonso reassesses his options in goal before the transfer window closes.

The Argentina international has been offered to Chelsea and is seeking a move away from Villa Park after Villa signed Zion Suzuki from Parma to become their new first-choice goalkeeper.

There is no agreement between Chelsea and Aston Villa and, as things stand, no formal bid has been confirmed.

Sky Sports reports that Chelsea are considering whether to proceed with a move for Martínez, while the Guardian says discussions have already taken place with the 33-year-old’s camp. The distinction is important: contact with the player’s representatives has begun, but the clubs have not yet reached the stage of negotiating a completed transfer.

Martínez’s availability has emerged at a particularly relevant moment for Chelsea.

Robert Sánchez remains the club’s No.1 and started the opening Premier League victory over Fulham, but his performance at Craven Cottage again placed the goalkeeping position under scrutiny. Chelsea had not entered the final week of the window with a new goalkeeper viewed as an absolute priority, yet the possibility of signing a player of Martínez’s experience has forced the club to reconsider that position.

The attraction is obvious.

Martínez would arrive with more than six years of Premier League experience, a World Cup winner’s medal and a record of performing in high-pressure knockout football. He was also central to Aston Villa’s Europa League triumph last season, providing the final major achievement of a period in which he became one of the defining players of the club’s rise under Unai Emery.

His potential departure would close an era at Villa Park.

Martínez joined from Arsenal in September 2020 and developed from a goalkeeper searching for a permanent first-team role into one of the most decorated players in his position. His performances for Villa helped establish him as Argentina’s No.1 before the 2022 World Cup, where his saves — particularly in the final against France and subsequent penalty shootout — became central to Argentina’s first world title in 36 years.

Villa rewarded that progression with a long-term contract running until 2029.

Contract length, however, no longer appears to be the defining factor in his future. The club’s decision to invest close to £30m in Suzuki has fundamentally changed the hierarchy in goal and created a pathway for Martínez to leave despite having three years remaining on his deal.

A move to Juventus had previously appeared possible before the Italian club changed direction and signed Guglielmo Vicario from Tottenham. That collapse left Martínez searching for another destination with the deadline approaching.

Chelsea now represent the most significant potential route.

The sporting calculation for Alonso is more nuanced than simply replacing Sánchez after one difficult performance. Martínez and Sánchez offer different profiles.

Sánchez has been Chelsea’s established first-choice goalkeeper and remains comfortable participating in possession, an attribute that has long formed part of the club’s preferred goalkeeper profile. Martínez would bring a different type of authority: elite experience, greater command of high-pressure situations and a competitive personality shaped by international tournament football and increasingly important European nights with Villa.

At 33, he would also represent a departure from much of Chelsea’s recent recruitment strategy.

The club have spent several windows concentrating heavily on younger players with significant resale potential. Their squad construction under Alonso has begun to incorporate more experience, however, and Martínez would be another signing designed primarily around immediate performance rather than future market value.

There is also the question of Chelsea’s younger goalkeepers.

Mike Penders remains one of the club’s most highly regarded prospects and is part of Alonso’s senior group. Any move for Martínez would therefore require Chelsea to determine whether the Argentine is being recruited as a short-term No.1, direct competition for Sánchez or the beginning of a more substantial reshaping of the position.

For Villa, the situation is considerably clearer.

Suzuki’s arrival means they have already acted to protect themselves against Martínez’s departure. That gives Emery greater certainty in goal while allowing the club to consider offers for one of its highest-profile players during a summer of significant turnover.

Martínez’s status ensures that any negotiation will still require care. He is not simply an expendable squad member: he has been one of the faces of Villa’s most successful modern period, helping the club return to the Champions League and then lifting a European trophy.

But the sporting direction has changed.

Villa have chosen their next goalkeeper. Martínez wants another challenge. Chelsea have been presented with an opportunity they had not necessarily planned to pursue.

The remaining question is whether that opportunity becomes a formal transfer negotiation.

Chelsea have made contact with Martínez’s camp and are actively considering the move, but they have not yet crossed the most important threshold: an offer to Aston Villa that would begin club-to-club negotiations.

With the deadline approaching, that decision may now have to come quickly.