Chelsea Considers Late Move for Emi Martinez Amid Sanchez Concerns

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 at a sensitive moment for Chelsea’s current No 1. Robert Sanchez has been under renewed scrutiny following a costly error in Monday’s win at Fulham, a mistake that dragged the hosts back into a game the visitors had been controlling.

Behind the scenes, the landscape around Martinez has shifted. Villa have brought in Japan international Zion Suzuki from Parma in a deal worth close to £30m, a signing that leaves Martinez needing a new club if he is to remain first choice at the highest level.

Juventus had tracked the 32-year-old World Cup winner but ultimately chose to sign Guglielmo Vicario from Spurs, leaving one of the game’s most decorated and outspoken goalkeepers on the market at a time when Chelsea’s goalkeeping department is under the microscope.

Since arriving from Arsenal in 2020, Martinez has become a cornerstone of Villa’s rise. He has made 256 appearances for the club, anchoring a side that has pushed into Europe and beyond under Unai Emery. He lifted the Europa League trophy in May and helped drive Villa into two Champions League campaigns, a transformation that has underlined his status among the elite.

His international record is even more striking. Martinez played a central role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph in 2022 and was part of the side that finished runners-up at the 2026 tournament. He has also collected two Copa America titles, in 2021 and 2024, and the Finalissima in 2022. Few goalkeepers in the modern game can match that medal haul.

That pedigree is exactly why former Arsenal and England midfielder Paul Merson believes Chelsea should be looking at him.

“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 on Sky Sports. “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 stopped short of turning Sanchez into a punchbag. He acknowledged the Spaniard’s shot-stopping ability and the volatility that comes with judging goalkeepers on isolated moments.

“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.

But the Fulham match stuck in his throat.

“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,” he added. “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.”

For Merson, this isn’t just about one night at Craven Cottage. It’s about the foundations of a side with Champions League ambitions.

“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.”

Merson, though, is clear on one key point: signing Martinez would not instantly turn Chelsea into title favourites.

“I don’t think Martinez takes Chelsea towards the title,” he said. “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 that exact crossroads: stay patient with Sanchez and hope the errors fade, or bring in a World Cup winner whose presence alone can change the mood of a back line.