On Tuesday evening, multiple reports came out in the Italian media that two of the newest members of the Juventus front office, CEO Giovanni Carnevali and Chief Football Officer Frederic Massara, were set to meet with the agent of the Bianconeri’s top goalkeeper target, Emi Martinez. That meeting happened the next morning, and maybe it’s no surprise that shortly after video of Martinez’s agent leaving set get together came about that Juventus and Aston Villa made some contact regarding the Argentine
goalkeeper.
And it seems like it was a productive chat from a Juve point of view. (Which, as you probably know, is not something we can say about some other transfer negotiations so far this summer.)
According to Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio on Wednesday night, there were contacts between Juventus and Aston Villa regarding the Bianconeri’s potential move for Martinez, who is currently preparing for a World Cup quarterfinal matchup against Switzerland this weekend. The biggest piece of information that has come out of that meeting, per Di Marzio, is that Aston Villa are looking like they will drop their asking price — which has to be music to Carnevali’s ears knowing how things had been looking. Di Marzio reports that Villa’s original asking price was upward of €15 million, but could very well drop to “at least €6-7 million” following this round of contacts between the two sides.
It’s already been a month since Martinez reportedly agreed to personal terms with Juventus on a three-year deal worth €5.5 million net per season.
If true, Aston Villa essentially cutting their transfer fee demands in half would be a huge development for Juventus considering this has been a likely sticking point for weeks. This is a summer in which limited funds has been a massive part of the conversation, so any sort of laying off of initial financial demands for a player that they want to sign is going to go a long way to actually signing them.
Martinez has been Juventus’ top choice to replace Michele Di Gregorio in goal for weeks now, and the sooner that they can get a deal done then it would be a huge box checked for Carnevali as he tries to address other needs that manager Luciano Spalletti wants to see happen this summer. Juventus desperately need an upgrade in goal — when was the last time we said that with such urgency?! — and Martinez is the one who can provide that.
Who knows if they can get a deal done before Martinez’s time with Argentina at the World Cup comes to a close — especially if the reigning champions make it to the semifinals or even the final on July 19. But if it’s true that Aston Villa are willing to essentially cut their original fee in half for Martinez, then it makes you feel a lot better about this deal actually getting done and Juventus having a World Cup winner in goal once again.
