Aston Villa will contact Emiliano Martinez after the World Cup final to determine whether he will be available for their return to Premier League action.
Martinez has been one of Argentina’s stars during their run to Sunday’s showpiece match in Qatar, but he will not have a long turnaround until his next Villa game. Unai Emery’s side host Liverpool at Villa Park on Boxing Day, eight days after Argentina face France at the Lusail Stadium.
Villa would like to count on their goalkeeper for that game, but will wait for the outcome of the final before determining his state of mind. The Daily Mail reports that Martinez’s influence is such in the Villa dressing room that he is in line to succeed John McGinn as the team’s captain, were the Scottish midfielder to struggle for game time under Emery.
The Spanish manager is awaiting the resumption of the Premier League season, having only taken charge of three matches so far. Emery took over from Steven Gerrard on October 24, and has won two of his three games in charge.
The World Cup has granted him a period to assess his squad ahead of a difficult period of fixtures over the festive season. Villa play Liverpool on December 26 before facing Tottenham on New Year’s Day and rivals Wolves on January 4.
Martinez has played every minute of their Premier League campaign so far and is under little pressure from back-up keeper Robin Olsen. The 30-year-old has kept three clean sheets in 15 appearances so far this season and has shown improved form in Qatar.
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He was the hero in the penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, saving the first two penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis. Martinez did not have much to do in the 3-0 semi-final win over Croatia, but is sure to be busier in Sunday’s final against defending champions France.
While Martinez is now one of Villa’s key players, he started out at Arsenal, spending eight years at the club from 2012. He had to be extremely patient, going out on loan six times, only to make 38 appearances in total for the Gunners.
He moved to Villa in 2020 for £20million and has found his feet in Birmingham. Nevertheless, his former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is proud of his development.
He told Mirror Sport : "I am very happy for him. We were aware of his huge qualities. He was determined and had a desire to learn and a big passion for the game.
"Sometimes he went out on loan and didn’t even play. But it didn’t stop his belief and motivation. When I see him now play knowing what he went through I admire even more his achievement. Well done Emi, we are proud of you."
