Over the past two years, Emiliano Martinez has been in an odd hold-up — seemingly agitating for a move and then later making public declarations that he had done nothing of the sort.

When Aston Villa held their open-top bus parade in Birmingham following their Europa League triumph, the 33-year-old grabbed the microphone, asserting that everyone who said he was going to Manchester United “was wrong”.

In reality, few people said he definitely was going there, aside from himself, which is why he spent last summer’s transfer deadline day at Villa’s training ground, Bodymoor Heath, waiting for a call about a move to Old Trafford that never came.

Even when it became evident that United were instead pursuing Senne Lammens, Martinez had not lost hope. Towards the end of the previous season, Martinez had been telling team-mates and staff around Bodymoor that he was moving to a top European club. It was why tears rolled down his face as he took photos with his family on the pitch following the final home match against Tottenham Hotspur.

In the end, no formal approach was made by Atletico Madrid or United until Martinez returned to Birmingham for pre-season, when Villa received a phone call enquiring about a loan proposal. 

Villa were open to Martinez’s departure, provided they had a suitable replacement. Like they would do the next year, they scoured the market for contingency options and were impressed by Joan Garcia, Lucas Chevalier, Mark Flekken, Diogo Costa and Lammens. 

Yet United’s offer was given short shrift. Villa would have demanded more than £30million ($40m), which United would have been reluctant to pay.

Martinez’s future had become an issue (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Martinez eventually left Bodymoor, accepting his fate, and went straight on international duty with Argentina. In this two-week window, to Villa and Martinez’s credit, they rebuilt bridges, overcoming the fact that Martinez was pushing so hard to leave that he did not play the previous match against Crystal Palace. When asked about Martinez’s future before that game, Villa manager Unai Emery repeatedly answered with the name of the Dutch goalkeeper they had signed that summer from AZ: “Marco Bizot, Marco Bizot, Marco Bizot.”

All parties parked further discussions over his long-term future. As is Emery’s way, there was no formal disciplinary action but Martinez was stripped of the vice-captaincy.

Even now, Emery believes Martinez is the best goalkeeper in the world. This was crystallised by the jubilant scenes in Istanbul. Martinez, at the front, hoisted Emery onto his shoulders, celebrating in front of Villa supporters.

Emery, having played it cutely for over a year, finally admitted — as Martinez trained on his own — that the goalkeeper wanted to leave a year earlier.

On Thursday, Villa agreed a deal with Chelsea for Martinez to join the west London club.

Sources close to the situation, who, like all others in this article, spoke anonymously to protect relationships, believed that while Martinez enjoyed a strong season, there was concern about late withdrawals before matches. On four occasions, Martinez pulled out of games during warm-ups, citing muscle issues.

Martinez did make silly errors last season, oddly developing a penchant for weak parries falling directly to an attacker and becoming less confident in dealing with aerial balls. But he remained pivotal in Villa’s most successful campaign in generations. There was the long pass to Jadon Sancho to seal Villa’s passage into the Europa League quarter-finals against Lille and the strong, claw-like save to limit Nottingham Forest in the semi-final first leg.

While his ego and bravado had to be managed, it is no coincidence that Martinez has played his best football under Emery and Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who both know what makes him tick.

Villa felt that although they had missed the boat to sell the Argentina international at his market peak, his value could not just be judged on transfer fee, with his presence in the squad outweighing that. Martinez had broken his right finger in the warm-up before the final against Freiburg, but, unlike other instances, he knew he had to play through the pain barrier. Sources close to the player were insistent he did not require surgery over the summer, and went on to feature in all of Argentina’s World Cup fixtures.

In many ways, the Europa League final was the crescendo of the first Emery era.

As had been the case a year ago, Martinez was available at the right price, even if there was less anxiety about him leaving, thanks to Bizot’s positive impact as the No 2. A mass overhaul of the goalkeeping department would not be needed. Bizot’s consistent performances as back-up meant Villa were more comfortable in going for a younger profile of goalkeeper who had scope to develop.

Martinez was clearly emotional on the final day of the 2024-25 season (Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

Martinez still did not appear enthused at the prospect of moving to a club in Saudi Arabia, so the key question was whether any other tentative interest from European clubs would harden. This came in the form of Juventus, leading to a delicate situation.

With Martinez away with Argentina for the World Cup, multiple sources grew in confidence that he would stay. Juventus were only prepared to offer symbolic, incremental bids — two sources close to the situation say they first asked for no fee — before going up to figures in the low millions.

This was far removed from what Villa wanted and was not well received. With Martinez’s high salary, Juventus hoped that just taking the salary on would be enough, but Villa asked for a higher fee. Personal terms between the Serie A club and the player were never going to be an issue.

Even at the end of June, there was an internal feeling that Martinez would stay. In the background, contingency plans were being made. Manchester City’s James Trafford was among the leading candidates — he has since signed for Leeds United — alongside Lens’ Robin Risser, but Zion Suzuki from Parma was preferred.

In July, Villa informed the intermediaries of prospective goalkeeper targets that it was unlikely they would move for their player.

A second saga in as many summers carried parallels — Martinez wanting to leave, but no suitors paying what Villa wanted.

“He’s a goalkeeper who wants to change teams, and we’re looking for competitiveness,” Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti explained to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

Negotiations with Juventus appeared to have broken down, with executives from both clubs confident enough to discuss publicly. Villa’s director of football operations Damian Vidagany told 365scores that Martinez would stay.

“The goalkeeper’s future is settled: he is staying with us, and we have no intention of letting him go,” said Vidagany. “The team needs his efforts and extensive experience, and he is a very important element in our project for next season.”

Fans passing a mural of Martinez on their way to Villa Park (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

Once it appeared any possibility of a transfer had diminished, the goalkeeper’s representatives moved quickly to express their happiness to stay.

Martinez’s head representative, Gustavo Goni, spoke publicly, insisting his client was happy at Villa, had not asked to leave, was excited to be back playing in the Champions League and lavished praise on Villa’s co-owner, Nassef Sawiris. 

Increasingly, though, the question was whether it was now or later. There was an impression from some dressing room observers that Villa could and should be done with the perennial summer saga.

Villa had tracked Suzuki in successive summers. They had been in contact with Parma throughout this summer. The Japan international was deemed a well-rounded, high-potential goalkeeper, who could take to the Premier League quickly. If they had not moved for their priority target, they would have missed the window of opportunity and be left trying to replace Martinez next season, with options who, in Villa’s view, were not as good as Suzuki. Villa were emboldened by their sense that the 23-year-old favoured a move to them all along, despite a move to Paris Saint-Germain being advanced.

His availability, as talks between PSG and Suzuki stalled, meant dealing with the goalkeeper position now.

On Saturday, with Martinez due back to pre-season the following Tuesday, all fronts accelerated. Villa renewed interest in Suzuki and were prepared to pay Parma’s asking price of €30m plus a possible €5m in add-ons. By Sunday the clubs had reached an agreement, with Suzuki signing a five-year contract.

(Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

This brought Juventus back to the table for Martinez, who made an offer of €7m plus €3m in add-ons. While this was below Villa’s asking price, both parties were moving closer to a deal. Suzuki travelled to Birmingham on Sunday afternoon ahead of undergoing a medical the following morning.

Shortly after the Japan international landed, in true Martinez fashion, there was another twist. Juventus pulled out off their move for Martinez, despite agreeing personal terms, pivoting to Tottenham Hotspur’s Guglielmo Vicario. Sources from both clubs say the key reason was Martinez’s higher overall package, owing to his salary and the fee Villa expected.

On Sunday evening, August 16, The Athletic revealed the deal with Juventus was off, with Martinez due to report to training, which he did, for his first day of pre-season two days later.

Villa, in the meantime, were insistent that Suzuki’s agreement remained unaffected and that he would be Emery’s No 1. They would then work to help Martinez secure a move elsewhere.

Both a result of returning late and because his future lay elsewhere, Martinez trained away from the squad. This continued for a week, while his representatives offered him to clubs. One of which was Chelsea, who made clear they were willing to explore the possibility.

On Thursday evening, an agreement was reached over a deal worth £7.5million. Martinez will sign a two-year contract plus an option of a further year, leaving Villa, finally, for good.

Martinez departs as their greatest goalkeeper in a generation, probably in the Premier League era. Six years, 256 appearances and immense personal and team success, Martinez will be remembered fondly. After all, it is the eccentricities and character traits that have made him the unique, brilliant goalkeeper he is.

The Vancouver Canucks are bolstering their options in goal for training camp.

Vancouver has signed veteran goaltender Chris Driedger to a professional tryout agreement (PTO), the club announced on Thursday.

Driedger, a journeyman who has appeared in 67 NHL games with the Seattle Kraken, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators, spent the 2025-26 campaign in the KHL, where he posted a sub-.900 save percentage in 23 starts for Chelyabinsk Traktor.

Driedger, 32, has the NHL experience to be a useful insurance policy for the Canucks at training camp, in addition to providing the club with an additional body in net with Thatcher Demko’s status still uncertain.

Vancouver may be best served by carrying three goaltenders this season, given Demko’s durability and rehabilitation concerns, and because projected third-string netminder Nikita Tolopilo requires waivers.

Bringing Driedger in on a PTO gives Vancouver some insurance in case Demko’s absence extends through training camp and the preseason, but it also permits the Canucks to place Tolopilo on waivers at their first possible opportunity.

Placing a goaltender on waivers early on during camp is a strategy utilized by teams to expose a netminder to the wire when they’re least likely to be claimed. Even if Tolopilo were to be claimed, of course, Vancouver will at least benefit from having precise certainty in the blue paint, with opportunities to replace (or upgrade on) Tolopilo given that the Canucks will have top waiver priority throughout camp.

The presence of an additional netminder with NHL experience like Driedger at training camp, then, gives Vancouver full flexibility to explore its options.

On the amateur scouting side, the Canucks have also confirmed the hiring of Kitimat, B.C., native Sean Finn.

Finn, 46, has spent much of the past decade working in a player development capacity for various KHL teams, including Yaroslavl Lokomotiv and most recently with Kunlun Red Star.

First-year Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson has gone about slowly overhauling Vancouver’s front office group this summer, which has included some significant changes on both the amateur and professional scouting sides. Hiring Finn seems especially notable given the strength of the Russian talent pool in the 2027 NHL Draft class.

Headlined by power winger Nazar Privalov, this 2009 birth year class of Russian-born prospects is widely viewed as loaded by NHL amateur scouts. In Corey Pronman’s initial 2027 NHL Mock Draft, for example, he projected five prospects currently playing in the MHL (effectively, the KHL’s version of the AHL) to be tracking toward being serious considerations in the first round.

Barcelona will face a tricky trip to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and a tough home match against Manchester City in the competition’s league phase this season.

The Spanish league champions were also drawn to play home matches against Aston Villa, Feyenoord and Como, who are managed by former Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas. They will also travel to Sporting CP, Galatasaray and Sabah FK from Azerbaijan.

Hansi Flick’s side made the semi-finals in 2024-25 and the quarter-finals last term in search of a first Champions League trophy since 2015. Can they finally go all the way?

Laia Cervelló Herrero analyses Barca’s draw.

Who are Barcelona’s opponents?

Dates and times of matches to be confirmed by UEFA. 

Which game most excites you?

Facing PSG in the league phase for a second season in a row might seem boring, but they’re the opponents I find most interesting. They provide a real test at a stage when there’s room for improvement. Finding yourself in such a scenario at the start of the competition, with such a young squad, is something I believe benefits Barca and will helpsthem grow.

If you win, it gives a confidence boost. If you lose, it provides you with a lesson and tools to improve.

The match will be a good litmus test to see where Flick’s side stands in their third season. The team’s aim is to take that decisive step forward in Europe, and I can’t think of a more challenging task than doing so against the reigning champions on their turf.

Which game worries you?

Travelling to play Sabah in Azerbaijan from Barcelona is not especially appealing — and it would be particularly difficult in wintry conditions. Flick isn’t keen on long-haul trips. This year he’d managed to avoid a pre-season tour, but fate has meant he will have to make two long journeys (Galatasaray in Istanbul being the other) in the Champions League.

Barcelona skipped a pre-season tour this season and held a training camp at St George’s Park instead (Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images)

There’s also a risk Barca’s players might lack concentration, while Sabah will be extra motivated to face one of the world’s biggest clubs at home. Between the five-and-a-half-hour flight and the fact that they look like a tough opponent, I see this as the classic ‘trap’ match that will make life tough for the Catalans.

What is Flick’s biggest issue to confront in the tournament?

Being competitive without a specialist centre-forward, because it seems that, with Julian Alvarez very likely not joining, they won’t be signing anyone to replace Robert Lewandowski or Ferran Torres. For the time being, they’re banking on Raphinha or Anthony Gordon up front. I think that might work for them in La Liga, but at European level I have my doubts.

Which team do Barcelona most want to avoid in the latter stages?

Luis Enrique’s PSG. They have shown in recent seasons that they are a team that causes Barcelona real problems, and Luis Enrique knows Barcelona very well. They are coming off the back of winning two Champions League titles, and to me they seem the most obvious answer to the question — even if Barca will meet them already in the league phase.

That said, I’d also add Atletico Madrid to this list. Last season, they proved to be a very tough opponent and the two quarter-final legs really took their toll. Furthermore, the tension over Barca’s pursuit of Alvarez this summer would raise the stakes even higher.

What would be considered a successful finish?

Barcelona have made it abundantly clear that their objective is to win the Champions League. Anything other than winning it or maybe reaching the final would feel like a miss.

Two seasons ago they reached the semi-finals, and having come so close to reaching a final means that not even the last four is enough for them now. The problem, as with everything in life, lies in expectations.

Prediction time… how far will Barcelona get?

I can see the team is so committed to the Champions League that I reckon they’ll reach at least the semi-finals. It’s still early days, and perhaps this is the sort of comment where I’ll end up having to eat my words (especially if they can’t find a solution in attack), but while riding the wave of new season optimism I will say Barcelona can do well. Only time will tell…