Tottenham Hotspur could be set to finally put their goalkeeping issues to bed this summer, with a potential move to replace their current club captain…
What’s the latest on Emiliano Martinez to Tottenham?
That’s according to Football Insider, who reported earlier this week that Spurs were looking at Emiliano Martinez with strong interest.
The Argentine has enjoyed a meteoric rise since deputising for the injured Bernd Leno at Arsenal, having subsequently played an integral role in Argentina’s World Cup victory.
He could now be set to take the next step in his club career, with rumours of alleged friction with Unai Emery, his boss at Aston Villa, who criticised him in public just last week following Villa’s defeat to his former club.
With another of Tottenham’s targets in Jordan Pickford having recently signed a new deal at Everton, the 30-year-old has now emerged as the outstanding candidate for Fabio Paratici to replace Hugo Lloris. The Frenchman has just 16 months left on his £100k-per-week deal in N17 and has struggled this season.
Would Martinez be an upgrade on Hugo Lloris?
If his performances at the World Cup are any barometer, Martinez is arguably one of the best goalkeepers that Spurs could possibly recruit.
This was at least the suggestion made by former Premier League marksman Gabby Agbonlahor, who branded the Villa stopper “the best ‘keeper in the world” upon his return from Argentina’s triumph in Qatar.
Boasting arrogance and quality in equal measure, his ability to unnerve opponents with his bravado and incredible shot-stopping is outlined in his average 2.7 saves per match for a Villa team in mid-table.
Should Spurs sign Martinez?
He boasts 57 saves from just 21 top-flight matches this season, pairing this with an impressive 22 accurate passes per game. Whilst keeping goals out is the primary aim for a goalkeeper, the modern exponent must also be able to contribute to his team’s build-up play.
This is where he truly marks himself out as an upgrade on Lloris, who this season has only completed 19 passes per game, albeit at a 76% success rate. The 36-year-old does not usually attempt anything too fancy, so his lack of ingenuity could be seen as creatively stifling for Antonio Conte.
However, Lloris has hardly paired that with solidity this year, as he has recorded four errors which have led to a goal, compared to just one for his Aston Villa counterpart.
Having become something of a liability of late, many Spurs fans would surely welcome an improvement on the club stalwart. In Martinez, they would add another ruthless character who will do anything to win judging by his perceived gamesmanship, with all the credentials to not only improve Tottenham’s build-up play but make match-winning saves to secure points.
One only needs to watch his sensational late stop to deny Randal Kolo Muani in his country’s World Cup final win over France to see just how formidable a goalkeeper the Argentine can be.