Emi Martinez was left out of the Aston Villa squad on Sunday by manager Unai Emery and could move to Manchester United in a dramatic move on transfer deadline day
Unai Emery showed his frustration with Emi Martinez during a bizarre pre-match interview on the eve of transfer deadline day.
Martinez was left out of the Aston Villa squad for their Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Sunday night amid speculation he could leave for Manchester United. The Argentina international has been linked with a transfer all summer and things came to a head on the weekend.
Emery opted to leave Martinez out of the squad entirely, with summer signing Marco Bizot starting in goal. It proved to be an ill-fated decision, with Bizot conceding a penalty for a foul on Daichi Kamada as Palace eased to a 3-0 win at Villa Park.
Before kick-off, Emery knew what the questions would be about – and he came prepared. Asked repeatedly about his missing goalkeeper, an agitated Emery simply repeated the name of his replacement to Sky Sports.
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In awkward scenes, Emery left long pauses as he stuck to his unusual approach. Asked where Martinez was, he replied: « Marco Bizot! » Asked whether Bizot would be the Villa goalkeeper going forward, he declined to add anything else, just repeating his name once more before stating « your time is over » and walking off.
After the game was over, and Villa had suffered a damaging home defeat, Emery did admit that the situation needed resolving. « It is not helping us. One of the circumstances not helping, » he said.
« We will see how we close the transfer window. We have a lot of circumstances that are not helping us be mentally like we were last year. »
Asked why Martinez was left out, Emery replied: « He was not available. Tomorrow is the deadline, and we will see how we finish. We need the players focused and 100 per cent. He wasn’t. We will see tomorrow. I cannot tell anything more. I don’t know, this is the reality. We will see tomorrow. »
Martinez, United and Villa are in a three-way tussle which also involves Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens. United have been in talks with Antwerp over a deal for their 23-year-old goalkeeper. It was reported on Sunday that United had tabled an improved offer for the player ahead of Monday night’s transfer deadline.
But Lammens has also been linked with Villa, who are looking at their options for if Martinez does leave. It is an intriguing situation which has come about largely because of the shaky performances of both Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana for United this season.
Ruben Amorim has insisted he is happy with his options in between the posts, but United are pursuing a deadline day deal nonetheless. Villa, meanwhile, have been hamstrung by profit and sustainability rules and have been quiet this summer in the window.
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