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Aston Villa prioritising another “incredible” English target after Abraham
Aston Villa are now prioritising a move to sign a Premier League rival to replace Emiliano Martinez, according to recent reports.
Emery laughs off Tielemans push as Villa near Abraham signing
After Aston Villa qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League with a narrow 1-0 victory over Fenerbahce, it was Unai Emery who stole the headlines with his shove on Youri Tielemans.
The Spaniard substituted the Belgian and looked frustrated with his performance, shoving him towards the bench. Emery, however, simply laughed off the incident and told reporters: “He’s my son. He’s my son.”
One bizarre incident aside, it was all about Aston Villa’s qualification for the last 16 and Emery had nothing but positives to say about his side’s victory.
The Villa boss said: “The most important thing today was to compete like we did, to feel good playing in our style. Everything they were demanding us to be compact and we did it and then of course to win the match, score goals.
“We had chances to score the second goal. We didn’t do it but we are really happy after the feeling we had on Sunday. To recover this victory and now to focus on the next match against Newcastle on Sunday.”
Fabrizio Romano: Aston Villa could now re-sign another former star with Abraham
The Villans could seal multiple reunions this window.
Interestingly enough, it was also a victory which did not feature Martinez. The Argentine was handed a rest on such an important night, with Marco Bizot taking his place.
Whether there’s more behind that decision is the big question. Recent reports have claimed that Inter Milan have entered talks with Martinez’s representatives, sparking all too familiar fears that he could depart this month.
But as one star potentially leaves, another could be on his way with Fabrizio Romano now claiming that Villa have reached a “verbal agreement” to sign Tammy Abraham from Besiktas. The former Chelsea striker looks set to return to the Premier League and to Villa Park in a deal worth £18m.
It could be the start of a late flurry from the Villans, especially if Martinez leaves before the end of the month.
Aston Villa prioritising James Trafford move
Martinez’s potential exit is exactly why James Trafford has found himself on their radar. According to TeamTalk, Aston Villa are now prioritising a move to sign Trafford to replace Martinez in the event of his departure.
The Manchester City goalkeeper has been forced to watch on from the bench ever since Gianluigi Donnarumma’s arrival spoiled his plans to become Pep Guardiola’s No.1. If he is to claim a place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup place and even compete with Jordan Pickford, then he needs the starting place that Villa could offer him.
It’s worth noting that, even though he’s been dropped, Trafford has still received impressive praise from Guardiola. The City boss told reporters earlier in the campaign: “With Trafford, I see the training sessions and for a long time I haven’t seen a goalkeeper as good as James. We have two incredible keepers.”
Given that Martinez is 33 years old and become more error-prone as of late, would it be such a bad thing if Villa swapped the World Cup-winner for the younger Trafford? On paper, it could be a genius move.
