Chelsea Pursue Late Move for Emi Martinez Amid Sanchez Criticism

Chelsea are exploring a late move for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez after the Argentina international was offered to the club by his representatives.

The approach comes in the wake of renewed criticism of current No 1 Robert Sanchez, whose mistake in Monday’s win at Fulham dragged Mauricio Pochettino’s side into unnecessary trouble and reopened a debate Chelsea thought they had parked.

Martinez on the market after Villa reshuffle

Martinez is available. Aston Villa’s decision to sign Zion Suzuki from Parma for close to £30m has left the World Cup winner needing a new club, and his camp has moved quickly to test the market at the top end of the Premier League.

Juventus had shown interest earlier in the window but ultimately chose to sign Guglielmo Vicario from Spurs, leaving Martinez’s future unresolved as the deadline looms.

Since arriving from Arsenal in 2020, Martinez has grown into one of the elite goalkeepers in Europe. He has made 256 appearances for Villa, anchoring Unai Emery’s side through their rise back into the continental elite. He lifted the Europa League trophy in May and has been central to Villa qualifying for two Champions League campaigns under Emery.

His international CV is even more imposing. Martinez was Argentina’s hero in their 2022 World Cup triumph and helped them reach the final again in the 2026 edition. He has two Copa America titles, in 2021 and 2024, and the Finalissima crown from 2022. Few goalkeepers arrive on the market with that level of pedigree.

Merson: ‘One of the best in the world’ – but not a title fix

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes Martinez would be a major upgrade between the posts, even if he does not see the move as a shortcut to the Premier League title.

“Martinez is available and he can be hard work sometimes. He comes across like that. But he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” Merson said.

“And if Chelsea want to get back to being one of the best in the world, you’ve got to have a top goalkeeper.”

Merson did not spare Sanchez in his assessment. He acknowledged the Spaniard’s shot-stopping ability and his capacity to produce outstanding displays in big games, but argued that the frequency of errors is undermining Chelsea’s progress.

“Robert Sanchez is usually a good shot-stopper. This weekend, or against Arsenal at the Emirates in two weeks’ time, he could be mind-blowing. He could make save after save after save and you’ll sit there and go: ‘Wow.’ He could save Chelsea next week,” Merson said.

“I don’t like picking on goalkeepers because it’s a hard job – and you make one mistake for every 50 mistakes the outfield players make with their passing.

“But the match against Fulham was another game that he brought the other team back into the game.

“At 1-0 you were looking at it and thinking this is going to be three or four. But he lets in a cheap goal and all of a sudden the game has turned on its head really. It looked like Fulham were the team that were going to get the next goal.”

Merson then drew a stark contrast with Arsenal’s David Raya.

“I’ve never known a team ever win anything without a top goalie. I’m sitting there now thinking when was the last time David Raya made a mistake?

The Wolves game in February maybe? But once. In February.

Sanchez makes one mistake a week nearly. And a goal may not come from it, he might kick the ball out for a throw-in.

“Against Fulham, Chelsea were dominating, he takes a great catch from a corner and he plays a terrible throw out to Cole Palmer. That happens week in, week out. And the ball could be intercepted, the ball goes back into the box and the opposition score out of nothing.”

Even so, Merson does not believe Martinez alone would turn Chelsea into title favourites.

“But I don’t think Martinez takes Chelsea towards the title. You look at Arsenal’s squad and if you change a player, it hardly weakens the team. Every position is solid.

If you look at Chelsea, they’ve got a lot of players in each position, but it weakens the team. The name of the game for Chelsea is to make sure when this season finishes, they are playing Champions League football next season. It’s as simple as that.

They came 10th last season. And you’ve got to learn to walk before you can run.”

Chelsea now stand at a familiar crossroads: gamble on an established world-class goalkeeper to steady a fragile project, or keep faith in a No 1 who dazzles one week and alarms the next.