We are waiting, maybe not so patiently, for Juventus to make some sort of move other than the expected one that they would do once the 2025-26 season was over and picking up a very affordable option to buy. Other than that, the major news that has come out of Continassa in the final days of spring is that of the change at the top of the sporting structure in Giovanni Carnevali taking over for Damien Comolli.
And it appears Carnevali is running into the same problem as his predecessor when it comes
to trying to bring Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez to Turin this summer.
No matter how much it might help that Comolli was able to strike a contract deal for Martinez before his exit earlier this month, the difficult part has proven to be actually getting Aston Villa to come down from their asking price. It is an asking price, according to Sky Sport Italia on Tuesday evening, that is around €10 million (at least) — which, for a soon-to-be 34-year-old goalkeeper who has already agreed to a contract that is worth over €5 million net per season, that’s a good amount of money to add onto the deal.
Juventus, understandably, come from the camp of wanting to pay as little as possible for a goalkeeper who is in his second summer of being linked with an exit from Villa, but the fact doesn’t change the notion that the newly-minted Europa League winners aren’t going to just let him walk without a decent amount of compensation.
Is a €10 million transfer fee on top of the salary obligations that Juve and Martinez have reportedly agreed to something that makes sense for Carnevali and Co. who are working on a limited budget this summer? Maybe, but it’s not sure thing — especially with his age even with the fact that manager Luciano Spalletti wants an experienced goalkeeper to replace Michele Di Gregorio after his error-filled season.
Aston Villa don’t seem like they are going to budge. Or, at least they won’t do it soon while Martinez is on international duty at the World Cup with reigning champions Argentina.
So does that mean Carnevali tries to play the long (and waiting) game and get Spalletti the goalkeeper he wants rather than pivoting to other, uninspiring options like Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario? Or does he pretty much go after another option all together considering just how long Aston Villa seem like they’re to keep Juve waiting?
We’re going to find that out over the next few weeks because there’s only so much time left before Juve players return to Continassa for the start of preseason training. And if Di Gregorio is still the No. 1 in goal by default, there’s going to be a lot of anxious moments from folks like us who are left wondering if a deal for a new starting goalkeeper — and a noticeable upgrade at that — is actually going to get done.
