Tottenham Hotspur want Emiliano Martinez but he has now been slated by Chris Sutton for his ‘despicable’ actions in the World Cup final.
Give Me Sport claim that Tottenham are looking towards Aston Villa stopper Martinez as a potential replacement for Hugo Lloris.
The Frenchman turns 36 next week and Tottenham need to think about a long-term successor.
Martinez is a top target and Tottenham must have been impressed with his performance in the World Cup final.
The Argentinian saved from Kingsley Coman in the penalty shootout before his mind games contributed to Aurelien Tchouameni missing the target.
Martinez became a national hero forever in Argentina with his shootout display but his antics have really divided opinion.
Tottenham target Martinez slammed as ‘despicable’
The former Arsenal goalkeeper has become known for his mind games in penalty shootouts and many have fallen victim to the 30-year-old.
Martinez was at it again on Sunday, waiting for Tchouameni to reach the penalty spot before throwing the ball away.
Tchouameni chuckled to himself before having to go and collect the ball, but Martinez’s gamesmanship seemed to work as Tchouameni dragged his penalty wide.
Some have blasted Martinez for his antics, believing that he took it too far and was disrespectful to the France players.
Add in that Martinez then celebrated… well, rather bizarrely when given the Golden Glove award, as seen above, and the Villa stopper has been slammed in recent days.
Pundit Chris Sutton has joined in, telling the Daily Mail that he thought Martinez was ‘despicable’ for throwing the ball away before Tchouameni’s penalty.
Sutton suggested that Tchouameni probably wants to punch Martinez at this point as his antics added to his thinking time and resulted in a miss.
“Being in the Lusail Stadium, watching this World Cup final — one of the best ever, if not the best — was breathtaking. It was everything sport should be,” said Sutton. “But I wasn’t enamoured with Emiliano Martinez’s antics. It was despicable what Argentina’s goalkeeper did, throwing the ball away from Aurelien Tchouameni as he stepped up to take a penalty in a World Cup final shootout.”
“The Argentina players gave the Frenchmen a guard of honour. If you are Tchouameni and you are walking past Martinez, you probably feel like biffing him. He added to Tchouameni’s thinking time. Then he missed,” he added.
Martinez won’t care; he’s now a World Cup winner and his gamesmanship secured a trophy, which may just be what Tottenham are seeking under Antonio Conte.
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