Tottenham Hotspur are pushing to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, according to Football Insider, with Roberto De Zerbi viewing the Argentine as the answer to a goalkeeping question Spurs no longer have the luxury of stalling on.
That question has just been settled from the other end. Juventus have completed a loan move for Guglielmo Vicario, ending an offseason-long search for the Turin club, (The Washington Post) with the move running until 2027 and carrying a non-mandatory £8.6 million buy clause. (LEADERSHIP Newspapers) Juventus had circled Martinez earlier in the window but pivoted to Vicario once that pursuit stalled — which is really what’s opened this door for Spurs in the first place.
Why Martinez, and why now
Aston Villa look ready to let their long-serving number one go after signing Zion Suzuki as heir apparent, and Martinez, 33, has been angling for an exit for over a year — he brought in Jorge Mendes specifically to engineer one, and his farewell moment with Villa fans last season made the writing on the wall pretty hard to miss. Six years, 257 appearances and a Europa League medal at Villa Park is a strong résumé to walk away from, but at 33 there’s a limited window left to cash in on a big move, and Spurs suddenly need exactly what he offers.
What makes this more than a like-for-like swap is temperament. Vicario was a shot-stopper first; Martinez is as much a psychological presence as a goalkeeper — his penalty-shootout theatrics at the 2022 World Cup weren’t just for show, they’re part of how he unsettles opponents. For a Tottenham side still finding its identity under De Zerbi, that kind of leadership between the posts could matter as much as the saves themselves.
The bigger picture
Spurs have gone without a settled long-term successor to Hugo Lloris since his departure — a near-500-appearance servant whose shoes have proven harder to fill than expected. Signing a 33-year-old isn’t a permanent fix, but it buys De Zerbi a proven, battle-tested option while a younger long-term option develops behind him.
With the season kicking off Friday, August 21, there isn’t much time left to get a deal like this over the line. Elsewhere, Tottenham’s chase for Cody Gakpo continues to stall against Liverpool’s reluctance to sell without a Salah replacement lined up, while Folarin Balogun and Omar Marmoush remain names to watch as De Zerbi looks to round out his attack before the deadline.
