Emiliano Martínez has made the pain part of the story as much as the transfer talk. He says his hand still hurts every day, he avoided surgery despite specialist advice in the United States and England, and he has kept going while Juventus hovered and Aston Villa held their line.
Martinez's injury and the way he played through it
Martinez fractured his ring finger on May 20 during warm-up before Villa's 3-0 Europa League final victory over SC Freiburg in Istanbul. He was ruled out for up to a month after the injury and missed the final-day 2-1 Premier League win at Manchester City.
The goalkeeper's own words are the best proof of how awkward that spell was. "My hand still hurts every day; I knew it was going to be extremely painful. I avoided surgery, even though all the specialists I consulted in the United States and England told me I needed to have it," Martinez told mirror.co.uk.
He also pointed to Lionel Scaloni's backing with Argentina as the detail that mattered most to him. "The coach sent me a message saying, 'No matter what state you're in, I want you on my team.' To me, that means more than saving ten penalties or making the front page of the newspaper," he said. He added, "And that is more important to me than saving a penalty."
Martinez said he could not train during the World Cup group stage, but felt better from the Round of 16 onwards after Egypt. It is a neat reminder that the summer noise is sitting around a player who has been managing a real injury rather than a vague knock.
Villa's stance and the Juventus talk
Villa's position is also plain enough. Damian Vidagany said Martinez will stay this summer and that the club have no intention of letting him leave. Goal reported Villa have set a €12 million price tag on Martinez, while another report said Juventus were unwilling to pay more than €10 million.
Villa's league finish explains why that firmness makes sense. They ended 4th in the Premier League, on 65 points and with 19 wins, so uncertainty in goal is not ideal for a side trying to hold its place near the top. The recent form feed also shows five straight wins, which suggests a club that would rather protect its structure than open a hole in it.
The simplest read is that Martinez's own story is the stronger one. Transfer interest is there, and Villa are not pretending otherwise, but the goalkeeper has just described a period where he played through daily pain, skipped surgery and still pushed on for club and country. Villa's stance may keep the paperwork still for now, with the bigger point being that Martinez has already done his part on the pitch and in spite of the injury.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →
