Ederson is claimed to be unhappy at Fenerbahce and is looking to leave this summer, a twist that has pushed the Turkish club toward another goalkeeper search only a year after bringing him in from Manchester City.
Fenerbahce are expected to enter the summer window in search of a new shot-stopper, and one name under consideration is Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, according to Turkish magazine Fanatik. Jan Oblak is also said to be on the club’s radar, as Fenerbahce weigh up how to respond if Ederson pushes for an exit.
For Fenerbahce, the timing matters because the goalkeeper picture has changed quickly. Ederson arrived last year and was supposed to settle one of the club’s biggest positions. Instead, the focus has shifted back to the market, with the Turkish side now looking for a replacement before the new season gathers pace.
Martinez, 33, first moved to Aston Villa in September 2020 from Arsenal and signed a four-year contract at Villa Park, where he has become one of the most important figures in the club’s rise. He was heavily linked with an exit from Villa Park last summer, with Manchester United among the teams interested toward the end of the transfer window, but he stayed put and continued as Villa’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Any move for Martinez would depend on Aziz Yildirim being elected Fenerbahce president. Yildirim had already held talks with Martinez before the 2024 election, but the transfer collapsed after he failed to win it. That political link still shapes the club’s options now, because interest in Martinez is tied not only to his form but to the outcome of Fenerbahce’s leadership race.
Martinez’s appeal is obvious. He won the Golden Glove award at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and is expected to play a key role in Argentina’s title defence at this year’s World Cup. He has also been a key figure in Aston Villa’s rise in recent seasons, giving him a profile that stretches well beyond the Premier League.
The tension for Fenerbahce is that their search for a new goalkeeper is not purely about performance. It is also about timing, power and whether the people making the decisions are the same ones who originally chased Martinez. If Ederson goes, the club will need to move quickly; if Yildirim does not return to power, one of their most recognizable targets may again remain out of reach.
For now, Fenerbahce have a familiar problem: a starting goalkeeper who may want out, and a shortlist that includes names big enough to make the fix expensive.
