Emi Martinez may have to alter transfer stance after Man Utd snub to avoid embarrassing saga

Emi Martinez had been eyeing a move to Manchester United and has been dropped by Aston Villa, but he failed to get a deadline day move with Saudi Arabia among his only options if he still wants out

Emi Martinez failed to secure his Aston Villa exit on deadline day and the goalkeeper may now have to pursue one of his less fancied options after Manchester United chose not to pursue the Argentine.

Martinez has been tipped to leave Villa Park this summer and cut an emotional figure towards the end of last season. Since moving to the Midlands he’s become one of Europe’s best shotstoppers and can also boast a World Cup win on his CV.

He has been linked with a move to Manchester, and that was his preference, despite there also being interest from Saudi Arabia. The sums on offer in the Middle East has tempted players and Villa have sold to clubs from the Saudi Pro League recently, Jhon Duran among them.

Teams were keen, but The Athletic reports that heading to Saudi Arabia “does not entice” Martinez. He wanted to continue playing at the top level and his wife also has business interests in the UK, furthering his want to stay from a personal point of view.

Now though, after the transfer window slammed shut in England, and a number of other top European countries, Martinez may be left with little option if he does want to leave Villa. The Saudi window remains open for another three weeks.

READ MORE: Man Utd response to Gary Neville’s transfer plea for Arsenal star beggars beliefREAD MORE: Man Utd seal TWO transfer exits and potential £59.5m windfall – but it’s a major loss

Unai Emery chose to leave the goalkeeper out of his squad for two of the first three games of the season. The Spaniard was quizzed on why he chose not to select Martinez before the loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday but just repeated the words “Marco Bizot” to the interviewer. The Dutch goalkeeper signed from Brest in the summer and clearly has the faith of his manager.

Martinez’s failure to secure a move to Manchester is because they chose to instead pursue Senne Lammens, signing the Belgian from Royal Antwerp for £18.1million. United ultimately decided on the 23-year-old over Martinez because of his younger profile.

Martinez would also have cost United twice as much as Lammens and the Argentine would have wanted wages in the region of £200,000-a-week. The Red Devils have also spent more than £200m on their frontline, leaving them toeing the line financially, which meant that Lammens was considered the best option.

Emery is open to repairing the relationship with Martinez, which could allow him a way back if he does want to stay. He said: “We have to fix it with him. Tomorrow the transfer window finishes, and we are expecting something hopefully to improve the squad. But we keep calm.

“One of the situations we are speaking about is Emi Martinez, but we will see tomorrow. Then we try to get the balance and try to work after the break and try again at Everton to recover our mentality.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.