Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.
The two sides have agreed a fee worth £7.5million for the goalkeeper, who is set to sign a two-year contract at Stamford Bridge with the option to extend his deal by an additional 12 months.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday (August 26) that the 33-year-old Argentina international had been offered to the west London club by his representatives.
That followed a pair of mistakes from current Chelsea No 1 Robert Sanchez in the season-opening victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage, errors that prompted manager Xabi Alonso to field questions over whether he would consider a change of goalkeeper.
Sanchez has been Chelsea’s starting goalkeeper for the majority of his time at the club since signing from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023, making 112 appearances in total.
Mike Penders, the 21-year-old Belgian goalkeeper, served as Sanchez’s back-up for the Fulham game and is highly thought of at Stamford Bridge after an impressive loan spell at Strasbourg last season.
Martinez’s future at Villa Park has been the subject of speculation ever since a proposed move to Juventus broke down earlier in August.
Villa acted quickly by signing Zion Suzuki from Parma to be their new No 1 with Martinez training alone ever since.
Martinez has made 256 appearances for Villa since joining from Arsenal in September 2020 and was a key figure last term as Unai Emery’s side finished fourth to secure Champions League football and won the Europa League.
