John Terry says Aston Villa goalkeeper and Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Emi Martinez has an ‘incredible’ mentality after he helped Argentina win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The former Villa coach spoke about Martinez’s transfer from Arsenal to the Midlands and how then-goalkeeping coach, Neil Cutler, played a huge role in the 30-year-old’s move.
At the time, Martinez was a number two to Bernd Leno, before helping the team win the FA Cup when the German was injured, which opened the first-team door for the former Oxford, Reading and Wolves loanee.
But Mikel Arteta wanted to stick with Leno as his number one when he returned to action, which forced Martinez to make the call and accept the offer from Villa, and he hasn’t looked back since.
The World Cup final was a perfect example of what Martinez is like, from his stoppage-time save in extra-time to his antics during the penalty shootout.
Former Premier League defender John Terry saw it first hand at Villa and he was full of praise for the player, as he told beIN SPORTS.
“I think Neil Cutler, who was our goalkeeping coach, deserves a lot of credit because he went and found him,” said Terry. “He did a lot of groundwork with him and sold the club to him. We had just got promoted.
“He could have sat there at Arsenal, like number two’s do. But he has proved to be a top, top keeper and his mentality is incredible.
“It’s the best I have seen yet. I think, as a team, they look at Messi and think ‘over 90 minutes, we have Lionel Messi, the best player in the world’.
“But as soon as it goes to penalties, then I know for a fact all of that team know he is going to save one or two penalties.”
MARTINEZ IS NOW A WANTED MAN
With Martinez now being a World Cup winner and Villa not in Europe, it has resulted in transfer interest rising for the player.
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham are one of those teams, but given that Martinez recently signed a new deal, then they are in a pretty strong position.
Plus, with Unai Emery in the dugout, Villa have their own ambitions of getting back into Europe, so selling your star player won’t be part of their thinking.
And if they are forced to sell him, then as they proved with Jack Grealish, it’s going to take some serious dough to part ways with him.
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