Chelsea have agreed a £7.5m fee to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

The Argentina international, 33, is set to undergo a medical in London and strengthen the goalkeeping group at Stamford Bridge.

It follows concerns over the performances of Robert Sanchez, particularly in the wake of Monday’s 3-2 win over Fulham.

Sanchez, who has been Chelsea‘s first-choice goalkeeper since 2023, allowed Josh King’s shot to slip through his grasp at the near post. He then spilled another effort into a dangerous area in the second half, allowing striker Gonzalo Garcia to score.

The move represents a remarkable turnaround in opinion at Stamford Bridge. Those in charge had been keen to back Sanchez but have opted to move for Martinez days before the transfer deadline.

Chelsea also have Mike Penders, a £17m signing from Genk, among their options. He is line to make his debut in the Carabao Cup against Luton Town on Thursday night.

Villa have been willing to sell Martinez since signing Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma for about £30m earlier this month.

It is also the latest in a series of deals between Chelsea and Villa.

The Blues signed forward Morgan Rogers from Villa for a club-record £117m, while Alejandro Garnacho moved in the opposite direction on an initial loan deal last month.

Striker Nicolas Jackson, valued at about £65m, was completing a medical at Villa Park on Thursday as he prepares to reunite with his former Villarreal manager, Unai Emery.

The clubs are known to have a close relationship. They were also involved in a deal widely described as a ‘PSR swap’, which saw defender Ian Maatsen join Villa and Omari Kellyman, now at Strasbourg, move to Chelsea.

Juventus attempted to sign Martinez earlier in the transfer window, but the deal collapsed because of concerns over a finger injury.

The Italian club instead signed Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario on loan.

Durham coach Ryan Campbell says he is comfortable with continuing to select England bowler Brydon Carse, and says the club will continue to do so unless they are told otherwise.

Carse, 31, was briefly arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly after Durham’s win over Derbyshire on Saturday, with images on social media showing Carse in handcuffs and surrounded by police officers.

He was removed from England’s squad for the second Test against Pakistan after the Cricket Regulator began an investigation, but Durham picked him on Thursday for their County Championship match against Gloucestershire.

“He feels he’s let the group down,” Campbell told BBC Sport.

“The England team are trying to restart their whole way of going about it and he feels he’s let them down.

“At the end of the day, he will have to live with that.

“I’m not going to stand here and say I’ve never made a mistake but what we can do is get our arms around him and make sure he doesn’t make those mistakes again.”

On Monday, Derbyshire Police said a man had been briefly detained outside Molly Malone’s bar before being de-arrested.

They say they are looking into allegations of assault and their investigation remains ongoing.

Carse, who has 58 England caps, appears unlikely to be selected by the national team until the regulator completes its investigation. That process will be delayed by the police probe.

“[The regulator] is going to do their job, we’re going to listen to what they say,” Campbell said.

“When they give us a result, we’ll act accordingly.

“Until then, everyone is free to play, he’s free to play for Durham, and he’ll continue to play.”

The incident is the latest in a line of off-field issues involving players from England’s men’s team.

Carse’s Durham team-mate Ben Stokes, the former England captain, was left out for a Test after breaking the team’s midnight curfew earlier this year.

Asked if circumstances would require Durham to take a harder line with a player, Campbell said: “So far, I’ve never had to deal with that, so let’s hope I don’t have to deal with that.”

Carse took a wicket in his first over against Gloucestershire and finished with figures of 2-51 from 12 overs as Division Two’s bottom side were dismissed for 137.