Chelsea have signed Argentine goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa for £7.5m.
Martinez’s move to Stamford Bridge came after he endured a summer of uncertainty as a move to Juventus collapsed and Zion Suzuki arrived as Villa’s new preferred long-term number one, which led to speculation linking him to Chelsea and Tottenham.
The 33-year-old consequently accepted a move to Chelsea for a £7.5m fee after Tottenham opted not to explore a move, as they instead favoured Antonin Kinsky and Martin Dubravka as their goalkeeping line-up, with the transfer marking the end of his six-year stint at Villa Park.
Martinez has signed a two-year contract at Stamford Bridge until June 2028 with option for a further year, and is “delighted” to make the move.
“Coming to Chelsea, for me and my family, was an easy decision to make and I’m just over the moon – I can’t wait to get started.
“I want to be successful here. I’m someone who wants to win at everything I do and I want to bring that here to this football club because it’s a football club that wins titles, so I think it’s a good match.
“I’m all passion and I play with my heart. I will give 100 per cent every game, every training session to make the club, my teammates and the supporters proud.”
Martinez began his career at Arsenal where he kept 16 clean sheets in 38 appearances between 2012 and August 2020, albeit often as second-choice goalkeeper amidst loan spells at Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and Reading.
His spell at Arsenal also brought title success as he helped them claim three FA Community Shield titles having been an unused substitute in 2014 & 15, before he started in goal for their 2020 success just weeks after he featured in their 14th FA Cup title win.
A move to Villa followed where he helped them achieve European qualification in each of the last four seasons, which culminated in claiming the Europa League title last season with victory over SC Freiburg in the final – which ultimately marked his final competitive appearance for the club.
Across his six-year stint at Villa, Martinez kept 76 clean sheets for the Villains.
At international level, Martinez has kept 44 clean sheets in 67 senior caps for Argentina since his debut in 2021 – having first been called up a decade earlier in 2011 but failed to make his senior bow until a 1-1 draw against Chile in June 2021 in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Martinez also has won four titles with Argentina, with his first success having come at 2021 Copa America, which was followed up by Men’s Finalissima and FIFA World Cup titles in 2022 then a successful Copa America title defence in 2024.
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