Juventus have contacted Aston Villa about Emi Martinez, and Villa are already weighing goalkeeper replacements if he leaves this summer. Martinez is reportedly interested in a move to Italy, which puts Villa’s planning on a tight timeline.
The main obstacle is the fee. Aston Villa have considered lowering their £8.5 million asking price, but Juventus are only prepared to go to £4.3 million, leaving a clear gap before any deal can move forward.
Martinez and Italy
Martinez is the 31-year-old at the center of it. His reported interest in switching sides to Italy gives Juventus a route into the deal, and it also explains why Villa have started looking at successors while the summer window is open.
For Villa, the issue is not just whether Martinez leaves but how quickly they can settle on a replacement profile. The club are considering both experienced and younger options, which is where the rest of the market begins to split into two tracks: immediate stability or a longer-term successor.
Unai Emery’s shortlist
Marc Ter Stegen is not on Unai Emery’s shortlist because of recurring injuries over the past two seasons and declining form before those injuries. That removes one experienced name from the mix and narrows the search toward alternatives with cleaner availability records.
Alex Remiro has become a more realistic reference point. He has been Real Sociedad’s first-choice goalkeeper since 2019, won the Copa del Rey twice in 2020 and 2026, helped Real Sociedad compete regularly in Europe, and made 309 appearances with 114 clean sheets. He also has only two international caps and carries a price tag of around £8.6 million, with his contract running to 2027.
Villa’s replacement options
There have yet to be any formal talks from Villa for Alex Remiro, but Real Sociedad would reportedly be open to cashing in on him this summer. That leaves Villa with a live target who fits the experienced route, while James Trafford, Zion Suzuki and Guillaume Restes sit in the younger bracket at under 24 years old.
Trafford has already proved himself in the Premier League and was Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper in the FA Cup and EFL Cup last season, which Manchester City won. He has also featured only once in the Champions League, so the comparison inside Villa’s recruitment work is straightforward: one path leans on experience, the other on age and development.
The decision now comes down to the same question driving the market: will Aston Villa sell Emiliano Martinez this summer or after the World Cup? If Juventus stay at £4.3 million and Villa hold near £8.5 million, the talks can sit in limbo while Unai Emery’s side continues to test its replacement options.
