Chelsea have confirmed Emi Martinez’s shirt number after the completion of his transfer from Aston Villa, and it’s an iconic selection.
The Argentina goalkeeper officially joined the Blues on Sunday after a deal for £7.5million was agreed with Villa earlier in the week.
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Martinez’s move is somewhat of a surprise considering Chelsea’s stance all summer had been that they were content with the goalkeepers they have in Robert Sanchez and Mike Penders.
In fact, Standard Sport reported they had no plans to sign Martinez even after his £8.5m move to Juventus broke down.
However, following Sanchez’s two high-profile errors in Monday’s 3-2 Premier League win over Fulham and Chelsea reconsidered their position and moved quickly to sign the 33-year-old.
"It’s incredible,' Martinez said. "It’s been an amazing few days. Obviously, it happened really quickly, but I'm delighted to be at this football club.
"I’ve been in England for nearly 17 years and to play for Chelsea is a dream for me. I’m just over the moon and can’t wait to get started."
Martinez - who could make his Chelsea debut against former club Arsenal next weekend - will wear the No26 shirt at Chelsea, which was made famous by legendary captain John Terry.
The shirt number was vacant following Terry’s exit in the summer of 2017 until the arrival of Kalidou Kouliably five years later, before Levi Colwill wore it for a season before switching to No6.
Due to Terry’s long career at Chelsea, Laurent Charvet, Neil Clement, Michael Duberry and Andy Dow are the only other Chelsea players associated with the No26 shirt during the Premier League era.
Martinez wore No23 in his final two seasons at Villa Park after switching to it from No1 having initially worn No26 upon his arrival from Arsenal.
For the Argentina national team he wears No23, but that squad number at Chelsea belongs to Moises Caicedo, while Sanchez is in possession of the No1 shirt despite being set to be pushed down the goalkeeping pecking order.
