Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez propelled himself into the spotlight with a stunning Golden Glove-winning campaign in Qatar.
Bayern Munich are looking at Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez as the potential solution to their goalkeeper issue, as Manuel Neuer is expected to miss the second-half of the season through his skiing injury.
Martinez, 30, had an interesting journeyman career before joining Villa in 2020, contracted to Arsenal but loaned out to Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and Reading.
In his first two seasons with Villa, Martinez kept 26 clean sheets in the Premier League and made his Argentina debut in June 2021.
His rise to La Albiceleste’s number one saw him win the Copa America 2021 Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper and he followed it up with another Golden Glove after securing the World Cup title in a penalty shootout.
Neuer’s broken leg has left Bayern without their first-choice goalkeeper and, just four points off the top of the Bundesliga, they are reportedly desperate to secure a replacement in January.
According to Media Foot, it is “out of the question” for Bayern to leave the January transfer window without a new goalkeeper and Martinez’s exploits at the World Cup have him at the top of the charts.
He remains under contract with Villa until 2027, giving the Premier League side plenty of negotiating leverage, and after signing him for £17m, they are likely to target a sizeable profit to part ways with their top-flight goalscorer.
However, he is not the only goalkeeper being closely watched by the German World Cup giants, with Croatia’s Dominic Livakovic and Morocco’s Yassine Bounou also being investigated, according to Sky Sports Germany.
The report states that Bayern will attempt to lure 34-year-old Yann Sommer from Borussia Monchengladbach to the club on a free transfer when he is out of contract at the end of the season, but that does not address their immediate pressing need.
