Italian outlet CMW claim Jose Mourinho and Roma have joined Tottenham in the race to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez – a player Cristian Romero combined with for Argentina, to lift the World Cup in Qatar in the winter.
Martinez, 30, has starred since ending his long-winded, but failed Arsenal spell to join Aston Villa. His move to the Midlands has seen him since become Argentina’s no.1. In 96 games, he has kept an impressive 31 clean sheets.
With Hugo Lloris likely to leave in the summer as he enters the final year of his Spurs deal, the North London club need a new goalkeeper. Dean Jones has told Give Me Sport that Spurs are keen on bringing in the ex-Arsenal man.
Now, it appears Spurs are not the only club interested in Martinez. CMW state that Mourinho is keen on replacing Rui Patricio between the sticks – a man he signed from Wolves. He also wants Martinez, as do Serie A giants Juve.
Mourinhos join Tottenham in race to sign Villa goalkeeper Martinez
So, Spurs could be set to go head to head with one of their old managers in Mourinho, and Conte with one of his old sides in Juventus – to get Martinez. Martinez may prefer to remain in England, returning to North London at Spurs.
But a move to join a Roma side that have every chance of qualifying for the Champions League will be tempting. Juve too, but given their financial issues and points deduction, European football seems unlikely for the Old Lady.
The report claims Villa want at least £26m for Martinez. A decent fee, given Villa paid £20m to sign him, and he has since become a World Cup winner. But the decision is down to Martinez, who may even prefer to remain at Villa.
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