Chelsea have added World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez to their squad, agreeing a £7.5m deal with Aston Villa for the Argentina goalkeeper. The transfer marks the eighth deal struck between the two Premier League clubs in the last four years, cementing one of the most active club-to-club trading relationships in English football.
Martinez, 33, has put pen to paper on a three-year contract at Stamford Bridge. The move brings to a close a five-year stay at Villa Park, during which the shot-stopper made 256 appearances and played a central role in the club's Europa League triumph last season. He previously came through Arsenal's ranks before establishing himself as one of the world's top goalkeepers, a status confirmed by his World Cup win with Argentina in 2022.
Speaking after the switch was confirmed, Martinez expressed his excitement at joining Chelsea. "I'm delighted to be at this football club," he said. "Coming to Chelsea, for me and my family, was an easy decision to make and I'm just over the moon - I can't wait to get started. I want to be successful here. I'm someone who wants to win at everything I do and I want to bring that here to this football club because it's a football club that wins titles, so I think it's a good match."
The goalkeeper's arrival follows closely on the heels of Nicolas Jackson's move in the opposite direction just a week earlier, continuing a remarkable pattern of business between the two sides. No other pair of Premier League clubs has conducted more transfers, whether permanent or loan-based, over the past four years.
The pipeline between Chelsea and Villa can be traced back to 2022, when BlueCo took ownership of the London club and signed Carney Chukwuemeka from Villa for £20m. Since then, a string of deals has followed: Ian Maatsen's £37.5m move to Villa, Omari Kellyman's £19m switch to Chelsea, and Axel Disasi's £5m loan to Villa.
This summer alone has produced four separate transfers between the clubs. Morgan Rogers completed a £117m switch to Chelsea, while Alejandro Garnacho joined Villa on loan with a conditional obligation to buy worth around £43m. Jackson then departed for Villa in a £65m deal, before Martinez's move followed shortly after.
In total, Chelsea have paid Aston Villa £163.5m for players since 2022, while Villa have spent £102.5m on players heading to Stamford Bridge, including the loan fee for Disasi. Should conditions attached to Garnacho's move be triggered, Villa's outlay could climb to £150.5m - terms Chelsea reportedly believe will be met without difficulty.
Much of the ongoing business between the clubs is understood to stem from the close relationship between Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali and Villa owner Nassef Sawiris, who have communicated directly on various transfer matters across several windows, including discussions around Rogers' transfer. That deal wasn't exclusive to Chelsea, however, as Arsenal also held interest in the midfielder before he chose Stamford Bridge.
The frequency of transactions between the two clubs falls under scrutiny from Uefa, which can examine deals completed within a 45-day window between the same two clubs. Garnacho's loan move to Villa came just two days after Rogers joined Chelsea, while Jackson's transfer was finalized 38 days later. Still, the timing alone does not necessarily indicate any connection between the deals - Villa have long admired Jackson, who worked under head coach Unai Emery at Villarreal, while Chelsea's interest in Martinez reportedly predates their recent dealings with Villa. Juventus had also shown interest in the goalkeeper earlier in the transfer window, though a finger injury is believed to have derailed that potential move.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.