Chelsea have agreed a £7.5million deal to sign Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa in the fourth transfer between the two clubs this summer.
The 33-year-old World Cup winner became surplus to requirements at Villa Park after manager Unai Emery signed Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Italian side Parma earlier this month.
Martinez was one of Villa's highest earners alongside defender Lucas Digne, striker Ollie Watkins and midfielder Youri Tielemans. All four players are expected to complete departures from the Birmingham club before the transfer window closes.
Clearing those high salaries creates financial space for Villa to pursue new signings, including Nicolas Jackson, Leon Goretzka and AC Milan forward Rafael Leao. Although Turkish club Galatasaray have offered Leao a significantly higher financial package, Villa hope the prospect of playing in the Premier League will persuade the Portuguese winger to move to England.
Failed move to Juventus
Martinez had previously seen a potential transfer to Italian giants Juventus collapse earlier in the window despite an initial £6million bid. Emery is now comfortable proceeding into the season with Suzuki and Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot as his primary options in goal.
Goalkeeping concerns at Chelsea
At Stamford Bridge, manager Xabi Alonso had publicly stated earlier in the summer that he was satisfied with his goalkeeping roster of Robert Sanchez and Belgian youngster Mike Penders. However, Sanchez delivered a shaky performance during Chelsea's 3-2 victory over West London rivals Fulham, raising fresh doubts over the Spaniard.
Asked about Sanchez on Wednesday, Alonso said: "Normal conversations. We have talked more about the team thing, about what we did well and what we have to do better. It was more about understanding the context."
The Chelsea manager added that the squad remains in a developmental phase: "Every game is going to be important because we are in this process that we still need to develop things, we need to make adjustments that are more team-related."
