Chelsea have confirmed Emiliano Martinez will wear the No26 shirt after completing his £7.5million transfer from Aston Villa.
The Argentina goalkeeper officially joined the Blues on Sunday after a deal was agreed with Villa earlier in the week. His arrival came as a surprise given Chelsea's summer stance that they were content with goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Mike Penders. Standard Sport reported that Chelsea had no plans to sign Martinez even after his £8.5m move to Juventus broke down.
However, following Sanchez's two high-profile errors in Monday's 3-2 Premier League win over Fulham, Chelsea reconsidered their position and moved quickly to sign the 33-year-old.
Martinez on his Chelsea move
"It's incredible," Martinez said. "It's been an amazing few days. Obviously, it happened really quickly, but I'm delighted to be at this football club."
"I've been in England for nearly 17 years and to play for Chelsea is a dream for me. I'm just over the moon and can't wait to get started."
Martinez, who could make his Chelsea debut against former club Arsenal next weekend, will wear the No26 shirt at Chelsea, made famous by legendary captain John Terry.
History of the No26 shirt
The shirt number was vacant following Terry's exit in the summer of 2017 until Kalidou Koulibaly arrived five years later, before Levi Colwill wore it for a season and then switched to No6.
Due to Terry's long career at Chelsea, Laurent Charvet, Neil Clement, Michael Duberry and Andy Dow are the only other Chelsea players associated with the No26 shirt during the Premier League era.
Martinez wore No23 in his final two seasons at Villa Park after switching from No1, having initially worn No26 upon his arrival from Arsenal. For Argentina he wears No23, but that squad number at Chelsea belongs to Moises Caicedo, while Sanchez holds the No1 shirt despite being set to be pushed down the goalkeeping pecking order.
