Aston Villa star has had ‘personal dream’ crushed as club blocks summer plans

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will be eager to have his squad back fit and training as soon as possible this summer.

With a Champions League campaign on the horizon for Aston Villa, pre-season preparations could be crucial.

Unai Emery will hope that all eight of his players out on international duty this summer will return fit and full of confidence for the upcoming season.

The Birmingham-based side have four players competing at Euro 2024 and four at Copa America, including World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez.

His Argentina side have made a perfect start to the tournament, winning their opening group games against Canada and Chile with Martinez keeping clean sheets in both clashes.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper will have his sights firmly set on lifting the Copa America with his national side, but his summer plans do not end there.

Aston Villa crush Emiliano Martinez’s dream

Martinez has previously spoken about his desire to represent Argentina at this summer’s Olympic Games.

In an interview with La Voz earlier this month, Martinez said: “I always put the Argentine team first and if I have to fight a little more with the club, I will,”

“It is a personal dream of mine to wear the gold,” he added.

However, it seems Martinez has lost his fight against the club with Argentine outlet TyC Sports reporting that Villa have put their foot down and decided to block the goalkeeper from the Olympics squad.

How Emiliano Martinez will react

Not competing in the Olympics will be a bitter blow for Martinez, who has been an outstanding and reliable goalkeeper for his nation.

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However, it is completely understandable that Emery wants his full squad back in pre-season training as early as possible given the importance of the upcoming season.

The Olympic football final is set to take place on August 9th which would leave just over one week for Martinez to prepare before the start of the Premier League.