Former Manchester United central defender Victor Lindelof is joining Aston Villa. But the transfer window connections between United and Villa do not stop there. Goalkeeper Emil Martinez was left out of the Villa squad that faced Crystal Palace on Sunday night, in what is the final Premier League fixture before the international break.
Martinez was withdrawn due to transfer speculation, with United said to be leading the charge to sign him. There are reports that the 33-year-old Argentinian has already agreed personal terms.
Meanwhile Jadon Sancho would be going the other way, but in a separate deal, and not part of any swap arrangement or anything like that.
Let’s dive into both on this deadline day eve.
Emi Martinez
Both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindiir have been brutal for United in goal this season. This club needs a new keeper in the worst way, and they they thought they were getting there with Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammens.
However, the potential Lammens acquisition looks to be in dire straits right now. United will reportedly launch a big bid of amount £40 million to sign Martinez, and honestly an amount like that might be required to get this one over the line.
Jadon Sancho
This piece of deadwood has been extremely difficult to offload, because he’s blocked potential moves where he would have hypothetically had to take a pay cut. Villa are interested in Sancho though, who has one year left on his United deal, and would become a free agent next summer.
Then, in 2026, he will finally be someone else’s problem, not United.
Sancho failed to turn loan stints at Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund into permanent moves, and he shot down the concept of joining Juventus and AS Roma due to disagreements on personal terms.
Villa are said to be interested in acquiring him on loan, not for a permanent deal. Sancho is in the same category as Antony right now- a total disaster signing, so just take anything you can get at this point.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter