Even as Chelsea‘s Club World Campaign continues, a lot of the main conversation regarding Enzo Maresca‘s Blues centres on major transfer developments.
Yet, for the time being, the Blues will just be content that they secured their pathway into the quarter-finals of the global competition, beating Benfica 4-1 after 4 hours 38 minutes.
Bad weather meant the game was suspended for several hours despite Chelsea leading 1-0 with four minutes of normal time to go.
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Todd Boehly and Co will hope that the rest of the transfer window doesn’t pan out in equally dramatic fashion. Here’s the latest…
Chelsea pursuing more deals after Gittens
The mega-rich West Londoners look to have now officially sealed Jamie Gittens’ coveted signature, with reports suggesting a bumper fee of £55.5m was enough on Chelsea’s end to close a deal for the Borussia Dortmund superstar.
The Premier League side are unlikely to be done there, with Brighton & Hove Albion menace Joao Pedro reportedly another option they’re keen on to enhance their attacking personnel even more.
It’s not all just transfer talk involving the spots up top, however, as a new target is now named on the ever-extending Chelsea shopping list that would really boost Maresca and Co. at the back.
As per a new report by The Mirror, Chelsea are now being offered the chance to land Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez this summer.
It’s stated that the Villans are resigned to the prospect of having to cash in on their Argentine shot-stopper as a way to try and correct their PSR problems, with the Blues perhaps capitalising on the unease at Villa Park in the process.
Manchester United are also named as the other Premier League party keeping tabs on the South American’s situation in the West Midlands, with it also being stated that Martinez might well prefer a move to United over relocating to Stamford Bridge.
Still, with Maresca no doubt wanting to upgrade on a shaky Robert Sanchez very soon, Martinez could be the perfect fix in the goalkeeping department for Chelsea.
Why Martinez is a more important signing than Gittens
If the Blues were to win the services of Martinez for a reported price tag of £45m, it might well be deemed an even better purchase than Gittens joining the growing group, with the 32-year-old now renowned for being a dependable stopper in the Premier League.
Of course, patience will be exercised on Chelsea’s end to ensure they get the very best out of the 20-year-old, off the back of him lighting up the Bundesliga last season with his promising and captivating displays.
In all competitions last campaign, Gittens helped himself to 12 goals and five assists, with plenty more to hopefully come from the youngster when he moves to English shores, knowing he might well be the Blues’ starting man down the left channel when you consider no one has really successfully nailed down that position.
Maresca will be praying that Gittens can slot in instantly and perform to fill their Jadon Sancho-shaped hole, with Sancho tallying up five goals and ten assists on the temporary books of the Blues last season, before a sombre return to the Red Devils.
It’s a risky move for Chelsea, though, considering the 20-year-old had only amassed 14 more goal contributions for the Black and Yellow past his breakout 2024/25 offering.
On the other hand, Martinez has been at the peak of his powers for some time now as a reliable Premier League figure.
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Martinez’s PL numbers for Villa |
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|---|---|
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Stat |
Martinez |
|
Games played |
196 |
|
Saves made |
573 |
|
Clean sheets |
59 |
|
Goals conceded |
241 |
|
Penalties saved |
4 |
|
Wins |
91 |
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Stats by the Premier League |
|
Looking at the table above, despite never making the first-team cut at Arsenal, Martinez has gone on to become a consistent top performer for Unai Emery’s men, with 573 saves and counting made in the challenging league.
Even when he struggled last season, Martinez still managed to collect 15 clean sheets in all competitions, five of which came about in the Champions League. To add context, Sanchez only amassed ten clean sheets and was undoubtedly one of the biggest underperformers in the Chelsea team.
In short, the Blues need to sort out their goalkeeper rankings more than their attacking options, with Sanchez giving away two penalties and making five errors leading to a goal in the top-flight last season. No ‘keeper made more errors.
As a result, the “world-class” Martinez – in the words of Gary Neville – would significantly improve Chelsea’s chances of winning more silverware next season.
He’d be seismic upgrade on the error-stricken Sanchez.
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