Aston Villa transfer latest as rumors emerging involving goalkeeper Emi Martinez and the player he would like to see join him at Villa Park
Emiliano Martinez has reportedly recommended to Aston Villa that they pursue a summer transfer deal for his Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul. Goalkeeper Martinez, who lifted the World Cup for his country in the winter, played alongside De Paul and is thought to be good friends with the midfielder.
De Paul, who plays for Atletico Madrid, started every one of Argentina’s seven World Cup matches on their way to clinching the trophy against France in the final shortly before Christmas, and he’s had a busy season running out for Atletico Madrid in La Liga and the Champions League.
The 28-year-old moved to Spain from Serie A side Udinese a couple of summers ago and has been a routine selection for Diego Simeone. Prior to that, De Paul had been in Spain with Valencia. Fichajes reports that he and Martinez have a great chemistry on and off the pitch and the Villa stopper is keen to reunite with De Paul at club level.
The link comes at a time when Villa is set to appoint Mateu Alemany, who was most recently the director of football at Barcelona but whose exit from Camp Nou has already been confirmed.
It looks as though it could be a particularly busy summer for Unai Emery and Villa; Alemany wants to bring Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie and defender Andreas Christensen to the club this summer. Both players were signed by Barcelona under Alemany.
Kessie, 26, could prove a valuable partner to Douglas Luiz at Villa Park, while former Chelsea center-back Christensen, 27, could slot into the defense. It’s also said that Alemany wants Villa to swoop for Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, 20, who has caught the eye with a number of impressive performances this season.
Emery and Villa did plenty of work in trimming the fringes of their squad in the January window; the Spaniard moved on Danny Ings and Frederic Guilbert, as well as loaning out Morgan Sanson and Marvelous Nakamba and cutting short the loans of Ludwig Augustinsson and Jan Bednarek.
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