Inside Emi Martinez's failed transfer to Man Utd after talks with Ruben Amorim

Inside Emi Martinez's failed transfer to Man Utd after talks with Ruben Amorim

Emiliano Martinez held positive talks with Ruben Amorim over a transfer to Manchester United but the goalkeeper ultimately missed out on his move to Old Trafford

Emi Martinez was hopeful of securing a move to Manchester this summer (Image: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Emiliano Martinez was desperate to secure himself a move to Manchester United but never got his wish despite holding talks with Ruben Amorim over a switch to Old Trafford.

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The Argentine was looking to leave Aston Villa and, even on deadline day, was waiting for a call. Martinez has proved himself to be one of Europe's top goalkeepers during his time at Villa Park, helping the club make the last eight of the Champions League.

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He's also won the World Cup with Argentina and he called on his compatriot, United centre-half Lisandro Martinez, to try and bang his drum with the senior figures in Manchester, which he duly did.

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The Athletic reports that Martinez also held talks with Ruben Amorim in June and July about the potential of a move to Old Trafford, where he would likely have become their No 1. The United boss was impressed with his character and experience.

He felt that Martinez would be a worthwhile addition, but when the Red Devils eventually made their move it was a loan offer, which Villa had little interest in accepting. Club bosses then diverted their attention to Senne Lammens and Martinez was overlooked.

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The 23-year-old Belgian arrived from Royal Antwerp on deadline day and cost the club £18.1m. The issue for Martinez was that Villa were always going to demand a fee in excess of £30m and United had already spent big on their frontline this summer. The Argentine's wages would also have been a sticking point.

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Lammens joined with Amorim under pressure to add a new goalkeeper. Andre Onana continues to be error prone and has not convinced whilst his understudy Altay Bayindir made a mistake on the opening weekend which helped Arsenal gain all three points.

Ruben Amorim was impressed with what the Aston Villa goalkeeper could offer, but ultimately went in a different direction (Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)

Martinez hasn't played in two of Villa's three matches so far this term with summer arrival, Marco Bizot, going straight in and receiving the backing of manager Unai Emery. The Spaniard has not fully closed the door on the Argentine and claims there could still be a way back.

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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."

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