Emiliano Martinez: Why new Chelsea star rejected ‘other offers’ to join Xabi Alonso's side
Emiliano Martinez joined Chelsea from Aston Villa after rejecting multiple offers, drawn by manager Xabi Alonso. He made an immediate impact in a thrilling debut.
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Emiliano Martinez had no shortage of suitors this summer, but the World Cup winner joined Chelsea in one of the deals of the summer.
The Argentine goalkeeper ended a six-year stay at Aston Villa to join Chelsea. Martinez had been pushing for a departure from the Midlands throughout the transfer window, and Villa gave him the green light to leave after securing Japan international Zion Suzuki from Parma as his replacement.
Although Juventus came close to signing him earlier in the window, the deal did not materialise. According to Metro UK , the 33-year-old also declined approaches from other clubs before settling on a move to west London.
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The key factor behind his decision was Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso. The Spanish tactician, who built his reputation at Liverpool and Real Madrid before stepping into management, appears to have been a major pull for Martinez, who was reportedly keen to work under him from the moment Chelsea entered the picture.
Chelsea's pursuit was not originally part of the plan. The club had looked set to retain Robert Sanchez as their first-choice goalkeeper heading into the new season, but a shaky opening-day display against Fulham changed the thinking at Stamford Bridge. Club chiefs moved quickly once doubts set in, and a deal for Martinez was pushed through.
There was no waiting period for the new signing. Martinez was thrown straight into action and made his debut in Chelsea's Premier League clash against Brighton, a pulsating 4-3 victory on Sunday evening.
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He stepped in for Sanchez, who has now effectively been pushed down the pecking order following his error-prone performance against Fulham.
It was a third successive win for Alonso, who plays the league champions Arsenal next week. The win was marred by Moises Caicedo walking off 10 minutes after being introduced.
Martin Moses (Sports editor)
Martin Moses is a journalist from the Multimedia University of Kenya (2021). He has practised sports journalism for over eight years. He launched his career in media at MMU radio (February 2018-June 2021). Martin also interviewed distinguished sports personalities while at Sports 360 (2020-2022). He joined Sports Brief in April 2022 before transitioning to TUKO.co.ke where he is now the Sports Editor. You can reach out: martin.moses@tuko.co.ke