Juventus resumed pursuing Emiliano Martinez after Aston Villa came to terms with Parma for Zion Suzuki, but the deal quickly collapsed, and then they reached an agreement for Guglielmo Vicario instead, Fabrizio Romano reports (via SOSFanta).
The Birmingham-based club had shown interest in the Japanese international earlier in the summer. They returned after PSG gave up the chase due to late issues with the commissions. The Premier League club quickly offered Parma the same amount of money.
Juventus tried to take advantage of the turn of events to sign Martinez, who was higher on their shortlist than Vicario. However, Aston Villa didn’t reduce their demands, around €15M, despite securing a new goalie. Moreover, the Argentinian star is dealing with a lingering finger injury that might require surgery at some point.
The Bianconeri were always willing to offer at most €6/7M plus add-ons for the veteran. Upon further reflection, they moved on again and formally opened talks with Tottenham. The Italian international wanted to leave, as he’s the third-stringer now. The Spurs didn’t insist on an obligation to buy, so he’s joining on loan with a €10M option. He’s returning to Serie A after his performances at Empoli earned him a move to London.
Our Take on Juventus, Martinez, and Vicario
It was worth a shot given the Suzuki U-turn. The fact that Aston Villa are spending big at the position raises more than a few eyebrows about the latter’s conditions, and the terms were tough to stomach, given his age. Surely the Spurs outcast doesn’t arrive under the best circumstances, as they probed several options while he was just sitting there, but he’s still better than Michele Di Gregorio in a perennial funk.