Emi Martinez

[Dave]

I'd imagine Garnacho is more likely than Sancho.

[ozzjim]

Garnacho is the one I would like it to be. He's a top, top player in the making and Unai could really help him kick on. In fact both him and Rashford would be good signings for us for next season, but I'd take Garnacho.

[Flamingo Lane]

The logistics of buying a new first choice keeper and selling Martinez could be awkward, without us being done over on one or possibly even both of the transfer fees.

[kippaxvilla2]

We need to get on with it either way.  It is two keepers to replace if he goes - far from ideal.

[john e]

He is the only truly world class player we have in the squad
That people are happy to him leave is a big mistake in my view

[Dave]

Replacement is going to be very interesting. Considering we are on a shoestring this summer, I can see it being a big come down. Wouldn't be shocked if it's a bosman and a cheap but experienced to compete with them. Just not Ramsdale. Ever. Please villa.

The only two keepers of the right sort of profile that are out of contract are Alex Meret at Napoli and Walter Benitez at PSV.

Neither would be a terrible idea if the finances took us that way.

Incidentally, Benitez is going to Palace on a free to (presumably) be back-up to Henderson. So in our "maybe needing two goalkeepers" situation would have been pretty attainable.

[cdbearsfan]

I'd imagine Garnacho is more likely than Sancho.

I could live with that.

[pauliewalnuts]

He is the only truly world class player we have in the squad
That people are happy to him leave is a big mistake in my view

I don't think anyone wants him to leave - I don't, in a world where we don't need to sell a big name, absolutely I wouldn't want to.

But it looks like we do. I think if we don't sell him, it'll be Watkins, and people wouldn't want that either.

TBH it might mean both of them.

Christ, what's the fucking point us even trying to improve?

[kippaxvilla2]

And when Interim gets fired in November they will probably take Emery as well.  And then Watkins, Rogers, Tielemans, McGinn, Philogene (again) will all follow him.

[aev]

I’m amazed he seems to be so cheap, keepers seem to have a bit more longevity than the others who have to run around a bit more.

How cheap is he?

Isn't 35m eur being talked about?

I dont think that is expensive for a top keeper.

I think that would make him the sixth most expensive keeper in history, and comfortably the oldest in the top thirty or so goalkeeper transfers. Think you need to go back to someone like Keylor Navas going to PSG for £12m to find a big goalkeeper transfer at a similar age. Or Petr Cech going to Arsenal for £10m when he was 33. Albeit both of those being surplus to requirements when they moved.

If he was as good as he is and 26 years old, I imagine the fee would be double the figures quoted. But he isn't.

Perhaps, but with all transfers it is the cost of replacing him too.

And transfer fees have moved on a bit since then.

If they had moved on that much, there would be other examples of older keepers moving for bigger money then, surely?

Whereas in reality - it's more 34 year old Yann Sommer going to Inter for £5m.

Maybe, perhaps then we could get Alisson in cheaply...

[Beard82]

I think the not enjoying *this* team is those of us that are glass half empty are getting nervous.

The last 5 years have been amazing - some of the most fun following Villa.  I think few can disagree with that.

The nervousness is this another one of the nearly phases in our history.  We have blown UL and FA Cup final and the last season the conference league. 

But we keep having to sell our best players - how sustainable is it.  Are we going to look back at this in 10 years like the MON teams

[LeeB]

I’m amazed he seems to be so cheap, keepers seem to have a bit more longevity than the others who have to run around a bit more.

How cheap is he?

Isn't 35m eur being talked about?

I dont think that is expensive for a top keeper.

I think that would make him the sixth most expensive keeper in history, and comfortably the oldest in the top thirty or so goalkeeper transfers. Think you need to go back to someone like Keylor Navas going to PSG for £12m to find a big goalkeeper transfer at a similar age. Or Petr Cech going to Arsenal for £10m when he was 33. Albeit both of those being surplus to requirements when they moved.

If he was as good as he is and 26 years old, I imagine the fee would be double the figures quoted. But he isn't.

Perhaps, but with all transfers it is the cost of replacing him too.

And transfer fees have moved on a bit since then.

If they had moved on that much, there would be other examples of older keepers moving for bigger money then, surely?

Whereas in reality - it's more 34 year old Yann Sommer going to Inter for £5m.

Maybe, perhaps then we could get Alisson in cheaply...

We'd have to pay him more than Emi so that's a non-starter.

[Monty]

He is the only truly world class player we have in the squad
That people are happy to him leave is a big mistake in my view

I don't think anyone wants him to leave - I don't, in a world where we don't need to sell a big name, absolutely I wouldn't want to.

But it looks like we do. I think if we don't sell him, it'll be Watkins, and people wouldn't want that either.

TBH it might mean both of them.

Christ, what's the fucking point us even trying to improve?

Since we missed out on the CL I've found myself reading a lot of Frederic Jameson.

[LeeB]

I suppose the point is we have and can still improve from a standing start, both Spurs and Man Utd had Chamions League football and significantly higher incomes than us when Emery joined and it's not stopped us consistently outperforming them since.

The challenge as always is to mug them and and others like them repeatedly on transfers.

[Concrete Tom]

He was still right to go up for the corner against Arsenal, IMO.

Yep, we had lost the game whether he went up and we then conceded or not. Whilst rare a keeper causes a goal for in those circumstances, it is as rare as conceding after so take the risk for the point. If we were drawing and we lost because of it, I can understand the criticism. But for this to be a criticism 3 years later.......

As proved by our missing out on CL, a single goal can make quite the difference.

How many times does a keeper actually score when they go up for corners/free kicks in the dying seconds.