Chelsea FC have agreed a deal to sign Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa, moving quickly after a summer of confidence in their goalkeeping options gave way to fresh doubts. The fee is worth £7.5million, and Martinez is set to sign a two-year contract at Stamford Bridge with an option to extend by another 12 months.
The move lands at a moment when Chelsea needed a clear answer. Robert Sanchez made a pair of mistakes in the season-opening victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage, and those errors reopened the conversation around whether Chelsea could trust him as their No 1. Xabi Alonso was even asked whether a change in goal would be considered after that performance, a sign of how quickly the debate has grown around a position Chelsea had publicly seemed content to leave alone.
The timing is important because Martinez was not sitting still while Chelsea waited. The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the 33-year-old Argentine international had been offered to Chelsea by his representatives, after his future at Villa Park became unsettled when a proposed move to Juventus broke down earlier in August. Since then, Martinez has been training alone, while Aston Villa moved to bring in Zion Suzuki from Parma as their new No 1.
Martinez arrives with a long body of work behind him. He has made 256 appearances for Aston Villa since joining from Arsenal in September 2020, helped them finish fourth last term to secure Champions League football and was part of their Europa League-winning side last season. For Chelsea, that record makes the fee look modest for a goalkeeper of his profile, especially with the contract structure giving the club the chance to keep him for a third year if the first two go to plan.
There is still one detail the deal does not answer: when Chelsea will formally complete and announce the signing. But the direction of travel is clear. After months of saying they were satisfied with their options, Chelsea moved as soon as Sanchez’s mistakes forced the issue, and Martinez now looks set to step into the argument over who should own the position at Stamford Bridge.
