According to British media, Emi Martinez wards Old Trafford and he was not on Aston Villas squad against Crystal Palace on the evening of August 31.
In the "feasibility of the deal" aspect, Fabrizio Romano said that Man United has reached a personal agreement with Martinez and is in direct contact with Aston Villa to discuss the fee. Currently, "The Red Sea" considers Dibu a more experienced option.
However, everything still depends on the development of the Lammens deal. Man United are leaning towards Martinez but still keeping the door open for negotiations on the Lammens deal, and can recruit both of them today.
On the Aston Villa side, Unai Emery avoided confirming Martinez's future, making the picture of this goalkeeper's farewell even more clear. As of dawn on September 1 (Vietnam time), there has been no official document or announcement from the two clubs.
Previously, Man United had contacts with Emiliano Martinez and Gianluigi Donnarumma but were forced to give up due to economic problems. For Donnarumma, M.U cannot accept the Italian goalkeeper's £250,000/week salary. On that occasion, Man City seized the opportunity when they had contacts with the EURO 2020 champion.
The Etihad team has scheduled a medical check-up for Donnarumma. At the same time, Man City are making good progress in the case of Ederson. As soon as Ederson leaves the team, Donnarumma will join the Etihad.
For Martinez, the £40 million amount is considered to have exceeded the "Red Devils" limit in the investment in the goalkeeper. More notably, Martinez is 33 years old and M.U does not dare to be reckless. However, poor performances by Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana forced Man United to immediately buy goalkeepers.
If Emi Martinez is the fire extinguishing option, Senne Lammens (23 years old) is considered a long-term investment option. According to the Telegraph, Man United have sent a larger offer to Royal Antwerp to close the Lammens deal before the transfer window closes. The two sides have approached an agreement but the signing is not yet complete. Senne Lammens has been absent in recent days due to information related to transfers.
Ruben Amorim's side have gone through four games in all competitions and have lost two of their four to goalkeepers. Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana both have inherent weaknesses in judging, high balls, second balls and set pieces. This made things messy for Amorim when the attack was not good and the defense became weak.
If Emi Martinez had come to Man United, he would most likely have started without having to get used to the Premier League environment. In addition, Dibu will bring 3 things Man United are lacking in goal.
First is the ability to coordinate the area of ban. Martinez often takes the initiative to call for defenders, judges the ball well and makes quick decisions in transition phases.
Second is the stable mentality throughout the matches and especially against big teams. This has been proven in the Argentina national team, from Copa America 2021, World Cup 2022 to Copa America 2024 when Dibu won many times.
In the end, Martinez was very good at the moments of facing or the penalty shoots. This is completely lacking in Onana or Bayindir when they most recently lost 11-12 to Grimsby Town in the penalty shootout.
The biggest disadvantage is the transfer fee and salary, combined with the big star factor, requiring Man United to be ready to immediately empower and skillfully handle the positions of Bayindir and Onana. However, this is a reasonable trade-off when the minimum goal is immediate stability.
As for Lammens, he is famous for his reflex, stature and promising form in the 2024-2025 season at Royal Antwerp. He is the type of goalkeeper who can train extra to perfect his footwork and manage the penalty area.
