Emiliano Martínez

[DaveAV1]

9 hours ago, Pez1974 said:

Very few clubs could afford his transfer fee

Its likely that very few clubs would be a desirable destination for him - he is adored here, is very happy and we're clearly on the up - would he swap that for Chelsea? 

We've got the lowest European competition, but its a chance at silverware - and a genius manager.

And he is living his dream here - Copa America, World Cup. 

A crazy offer might mean he goes, but hugely unlikely in my opinion.

We’re in a position now that we can offer players as much as anyone, money success on the field and elite management. They should be flocking here not leaving. In fact the more I think about it I believe Kalvin Philips could be good for us and him. Provided we can keep him fit which we have historically been able to do with Macca years ago and more recently Joe Grealish he’d be great if fit. Imagining him here with a desire to prove Pep wrong? He’d be working under a manager who would not only make him feel wanted but also a man who has walked the same path. Perfect fit for him and us. 

[Davkaus]

6 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said:

We’re in a position now that we can offer players as much as anyone, money success on the field and elite management. They should be flocking here not leaving. In fact the more I think about it I believe Kalvin Philips could be good for us and him. 

Behave. We've finished 7th and are now at 27 seasons without a trophy. We can absolutely not offer as much money or success on the pitch as Man City.

[HeyAnty]

There is a really good show that just came on the bbc iplayer on Argentina winning the world cup.  He’s  commenting the complete way through it.  He’s adored in Argentina, next to Messi. Really is crazy how we have him.  Villa will be known throughout Argentina by everyone. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by HeyAnty

[foreveryoung]

54 minutes ago, spiezels said:

Surely the fact Brighton who have finished in the European competition above ours are losing Macallister should show us it’s not guaranteed he will stay.

I’ll be gutted if he goes of course. But I’m not under the illusion he’s 100% staying. 

Think it would be naive to think so. Unfortunately. 

One difference chap is, we are not a selling club anymore, they are!

[AvfcRigo82]

38 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Indeed. Players will say all the right words until they've signed on the dotted line at another club.

I'm hopeful that he'll still be here next season, but what he says on the pitch or on his socials mean nothing to me. Have people really not learned from Delph and Grealish?

You can just tell Martinez is different.

He wouldn't be going all over social media telling everyone he is trying to get as many of his world cup winning team mates to join Villa if he is intending to piss off 5 minutes later, would he?

Something about Martinez is different to those other two serpents you mention.

[Keyblade]

32 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

One difference chap is, we are not a selling club anymore, they are!

What makes you say that? Pretty much every club is a selling club. We are no better than Brighton in that regard. We just didn't have the same interest in our players in the last couple of years as we haven't been doing as well.

[foreveryoung]

11 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

What makes you say that? Pretty much every club is a selling club. We are no better than Brighton in that regard. We just didn't have the same interest in our players in the last couple of years as we haven't been doing as well.

Luiz to Arsenal?

[WallisFrizz]

35 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

You can just tell Martinez is different.

He wouldn't be going all over social media telling everyone he is trying to get as many of his world cup winning team mates to join Villa if he is intending to piss off 5 minutes later, would he?

Something about Martinez is different to those other two serpents you mention.

I really don’t think he’s different. I think he’s probably giving Villa his all and not pushing for a move but there is far less movement amongst goalkeepers anyway. I think he’d go if the right opportunity presented itself but as it might not be likely, he’ll stand on the pitch talking about next season etc

The difference between MacAllister and Emi yesterday was that it is all but confirmed that MacAllister is moving to Liverpool so he knew he was was saying goodbye etc for real.

[Keyblade]

4 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Luiz to Arsenal?

Caicedo to Arsenal in January?

In both cases, the offer wasn't good enough. Luiz wanted to leave too. If they bid like 50m like Brighton were getting for their players, he would have left. Selling club doesn't mean "sell at the first bid received". 

[Marka Ragnos]

14 hours ago, Sulberto21 said:

Easily worth £100m plus. 

And not everything has a price, even in world football, and some players really are, at certain times, irreplaceable. Barring some unthinkable tragedy, he's not going anywhere.

We can't afford any price. Why is that so hard to accept as a reality of where Villa are now?

Emi's value is totally integral to Unai's approach, and his stopping power, more than any single other factor, has allowed us to get to Europe. He's let something like 38 balls in. That's Ederson level. That's DeGea in his prime. We lose him, there is no replacement anywhere who would come to Villa. And yes, I could easily imagine Villa taking an offer of £140m and not finding a way to re-create what we have now. Chelsea have proven indisputably that pouring millions of pounds into a club is absolutely NOT enough in 2023 in the Premier League.

I sometimes think we're so unused to thinking of ourselves as football giants, we're too ready to sell ourselves short. We deserve Emi. He deserves us. Is that so unimaginable?

Edited May 29, 2023 by Marka Ragnos

[spiezels]

17 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

One difference chap is, we are not a selling club anymore, they are!

I’d love to say so, but we can’t possibly so until someone comes in for him. 

[Spoony]

17 hours ago, HeyAnty said:

There is a really good show that just came on the bbc iplayer on Argentina winning the world cup.  He’s  commenting the complete way through it.  He’s adored in Argentina, next to Messi. Really is crazy how we have him.  Villa will be known throughout Argentina by everyone. 

I think their vibe is more “wtf is he doing at [checks translated notes] Aston Detached Accommodation With Pool? Who are they? Why is he not at Madrid?” Rather than clamouring to support us

Edited May 30, 2023 by Spoony

[DaveAV1]

On 29/05/2023 at 21:18, AvfcRigo82 said:

You can just tell Martinez is different.

He wouldn't be going all over social media telling everyone he is trying to get as many of his world cup winning team mates to join Villa if he is intending to piss off 5 minutes later, would he?

Something about Martinez is different to those other two serpents you mention.

I agree I think Emi genuinely loves it here a n d with the financial situation at Barcelona making it very difficult to resig Messi any time soon, it’s time for him to have a chat with his little pal.

[AvfcRigo82]

14 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said:

I agree I think Emi genuinely loves it here a n d with the financial situation at Barcelona making it very difficult to resig Messi any time soon, it’s time for him to have a chat with his little pal.

That much is obvious Dave. He just lives and breathes Villa and it's good to see.

Interesting his wee 'free agent' pal was nailed on to sign for the Saudi's.. But hasn't.

Barcelona I don't think can afford him? (I could be wrong). So maybe agent Emi has had a word in his ear about swapping a Spanish Villa for an Aston Villa? 

  

[Adam2003]

On 30/05/2023 at 09:54, Spoony said:

I think their vibe is more “wtf is he doing at [checks translated notes] Aston Detached Accommodation With Pool? Who are they? Why is he not at Madrid?” Rather than clamouring to support us

Just to clarify in this scenario you have a bunch of Spanish speakers looking up a translation for ‘Villa’?

[Spoony]

6 hours ago, Adam2003 said:

Just to clarify in this scenario you have a bunch of Spanish speakers looking up a translation for ‘Villa’?

[Wurzel]

 

[AvfcRigo82]

Anyone who remains in any doubt with his commitment to the cause and our club, this is an interesting piece..

 

After Aston Villa secured a place in Europe next season, Emiliano Martinez delighted fans with his post-match speech after our win over Brighton on Sunday.

The 30-year-old continued to play a fundamental role in our progression this past season, featuring 37 times across all competitions while conceding just 39 goals and keeping 13 clean sheets.

However, after his World Cup triumph with Argentina last year and with our struggles in mind in the early part of the campaign, question marks were raised over his future at the club as the expectation was that there would be plenty of interest in him in January, and particularly this summer.

Fortunately, the appointment of Unai Emery has proven to be a hugely positive decision, as the Spaniard has transformed us on the pitch and led us to a Europa Conference League qualification spot on the final weekend of the campaign.

With Villa now preparing for a return to Europe next season, it’s another key factor in both convincing our top players to stay and to attract a higher calibre of transfer targets to the club. Combined with the ambition and proof of what Emery is capable of achieving with us too, it’s an exciting time to be connected to Villa as the future certainly looks bright.

Ultimately, actions will speak louder than words in terms of whether or not Martinez does stay this summer, but the Argentine international has given no indication for us to think otherwise as he once again reaffirmed his commitment and desire to lead us to the Champions League in his post-game speech on Sunday.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said on the pitch after the game, as per the video below. “Where we were at the start of the season to where we are now, we should be grateful to qualify for Europe for the first time in 13 years.

“He (Unai Emery) just told us to play our game and that it was all about us not Brighton. We played an outstanding game from the first minute and I’m very proud to be wearing this shirt today.

“We wanted it more than them – that’s the reality. We wanted to be in Europe and this club deserves to be in Europe. So we’re going to go for the Champions League soon. Let’s go to Europe, babyyyy!”

This sentiment echoes what Martinez has said time and time again about Villa, as he has never been shy about expressing his love for the club and how much it means to him having given him the opportunity and platform to be as successful as he has been.

While the Europa Conference League isn’t where he nor the club would ideally like to be in terms of having greater ambitions to break into the Champions League at some stage, it does represent European football and another big chance of winning a major trophy.

In turn, coupled with the likelihood that we will recruit well this summer and bring in real quality to significantly improve the squad, it’s certainly hoped at least that Martinez isn’t considering anything but starting the new campaign with us, and that he will not stop until we’ve achieved our objectives of winning a trophy and getting into the Champions League.

Naturally, it will still take a lot more work both on and off the pitch to ensure we’re competitive at that level, but after the run we went on under Emery to finish seventh, just one point shy of a Europa League spot and 10 off a top-four finish, we’ll hope to make up that ground next season in Emery’s first full year at the helm and with Martinez leading our charge from the back.

Here..

 

I think this just reaffirms what many of us have said already, he's going nowhere!

[Tom13]

Yeah definitely. Not like he'd be one of God knows how many players who said something which made them sound committed and then left.

If an elite club comes in for him, he would push for it. That's just the sad reality of football these days and where we're at currently.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Tom13

[ChesterDad]

12 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

Yeah definitely. Not like he'd be one of God knows how many players who said something which made them sound committed and then left.

If an elite club comes in for him, he would push for it. That's just the sad reality of football these days and where we're at currently.

Exactly this - I doubt for one nano second that he loves Villa more than Jack does, but these guys are professionals and can love one club, whilst plying their trade with another.

I honestly don’t think he will be here next season