Chelsea have completed a surprise move for Emiliano Martínez, paying £7.5million and handing the 33-year-old a three-year contract. The deal immediately puts Robert Sánchez under pressure, with Chelsea leaning on a goalkeeper who has already won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina and twice taken the Yashin Trophy.
Chelsea's goalkeeper reset
Chelsea have not gone for a low-profile option here. Martinez arrives with a winning resume and a straightforward job: raise the level between the posts and make the No. 1 conversation harder for Sánchez to win back.
The numbers explain why the move has landed with force. Sánchez has made eight errors leading to Premier League goals since joining Chelsea in 2023. Martinez has made six over the same period. Sánchez’s most recent five-match run also includes a 6.6 average rating in his latest outing, which only adds to the sense that Chelsea wanted change rather than patience.
Martinez's own case for the move
Martinez has already spoken like a player who expects standards to be high. "I’m delighted to be at this football club," he said. He also added: "I want to be successful here. I’m someone who wants to win at everything I do and I want to bring that here to this football club because it’s a football club that wins titles, so I think it’s a good match."
Aston Villa’s farewell underlined the level Chelsea are buying. The club said he was "twice named the world’s number one goalkeeper, picking up successive Yashin Trophies in 2023 and 2024 as well as two The Best FIFA Football awards."
There was also talk earlier this month of a deal with Juventus collapsing, which makes Chelsea’s move stand out even more. The permanent transfer gives them an experienced keeper with a trophy record and leaves Sánchez with a clear fight to keep his place.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
