Chris Sutton has told BBC Radio 5 Live (05/10/20 at 7:30 pm) that Aston Villa summer signing Emiliano Martinez has been a ‘big upgrade’ on recently departed duo Pepe Reina and Orjan Nyland.
One of the big changes Dean Smith made from Villa’s final-day survival was bringing Martinez in from Arsenal.
Reina, who joined last January, left in the summer when his contract expired, whilst Nyland parted ways with the club on deadline day.
It has been some start by Smith’s men and former Premier League winner, Sutton, thinks that the club have had a pretty productive transfer window.
“I think Martinez, the goalkeeper, is a big upgrade on Pepe Reina and Nyland,” Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You look at the centre-forward position. Dean Smith knows Watkins extremely well, so that was a no-brainer. That was a shrewd piece of business knowing the player well.
“Traore is a decent piece of business. Keeping Grealish is a major factor. And defensively, they do look more sound. But it’s still very early days.”
From saving a penalty on his Villa debut to beating Liverpool 7-2, it has been a quite remarkable start for Martinez in B6.
Whilst the Argentine was craving first-team football, he wouldn’t have imagined that life was going to start in such a positive fashion at Villa.
But Smith and his players are now riding a wave and if they can stay on it then it will make them a dangerous outfit for the rest of the season
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