Transfer Talk: Villa braced for Bayern’s Martinez move

Aston Villa’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is wanted by German powerhouses Bayern Munich.

Though the great Lionel Messi has quite rightly grabbed the headlines for his role in La Albiceleste’s famous triumph, their No1 was arguably equally pivotal. 

The 30-year-old, who had loan spells with the likes of Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham during his Arsenal days, picked up the competition’s Golden Glove award.

Alongside crucial stops in the dying seconds against Australia and France, Martinez was the hero of two penalty shootouts against the Netherlands and Les Bleus with stunning saves and some controversial mind games.

Those efforts have not gone unnoticed, with the West Midlands outfit now facing an uphill to keep hold of their custodian.

Bayern are desperate to bolster their goalkeeping ranks this winter after Manuel Neuer broke his leg on a post-World Cup ski trip — and French outlet MediaFoot say a move for Martinez is imminent.

While it would be difficult for the Argentine to turn down Champions League football, Villa are under no pressure to sell with their No1 contracted until summer 2027.

Yet the player’s agent Gustavo Goni has done little to quash speculation with some questionable comments to the Italian press over the weekend.

Asked if his client would consider a move to Serie A, Goni replied: "Today there are few teams that can afford a goalkeeper like him.

"But Serie A, well, why not? He is clearly aiming high, for the Champions League."

In other news

The Telegraph say Everton are close to tying Anthony Gordon, 21, down to a new deal to stave off recent interest from Chelsea.

Spanish outlet Sport suggest that N’Golo Kante could join Barcelona in January — though it is unclear whether the 31-year-old Chelsea midfielder is the first choice of Blaugrana boss Xavi.

Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth reports that Barca, Atletico Madrid and two unnamed Premier League sides are chasing Celtic full-back Josip Juranovic after the 27-year-old starred for Croatia at the World Cup.