Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez from Aston Villa, with the former Arsenal man becoming the eighth player to move between the two clubs since 2022. The 33-year-old has joined for a fee of around £7.5million and has signed a three-year deal.
Eighth transfer between the clubs
Martinez is the fourth player to move from Villa to Chelsea this summer alone. Chelsea have previously signed Carney Chukwuemeka, who has since moved on to Borussia Dortmund, and Omari Kellyman. England star Morgan Rogers also completed a £117m switch to West London earlier this summer.
The business has not only gone in one way. Villa have also recruited from the Blues in the past, having signed Axel Disasi and Alejandro Garnacho on loan from Chelsea, while they have also paid considerable fees for the likes of Ian Maatsen and Nicolas Jackson - the latter having completed a £65m move to Villa Park over recent days.
Close working relationship
According to BBC Sport, Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali and Villa owner Nassef Sawiris have developed a close working relationship over recent years. The pair have negotiated personally on a number of deals, including Rogers' big-money switch to Stamford Bridge.
There are benefits of Premier League clubs working together when it comes to transfers. There is no suggestion that there is any wrongdoing at all by either club but there is more of a guarantee that any signing will be a success, having already played in the Premier League, while the spending power of clubs in the English top-flight may allow negotiations to be more straightforward.
Martinez's reaction
Speaking about his move, Martinez said: "I'm delighted to be at this football club. 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."
He added: "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. I'm all passion and I play with my heart. I will give 100 per cent every game, every training session to make the club, my teammates and the supporters proud."
Chelsea and Villa are however not the only Premier League clubs to have regularly done business together. The former have also completed eight deals with Brighton including moves for Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez and more. Newcastle and Nottingham Forest are also regularly in talks, having completed six deals between them.
