Why Emiliano Martinez Spoke With John Terry After Sealing Chelsea Transfer | OneFootball

Emiliano Martinez shared the conversation he had with Chelsea legend John Terry before signing for the Blues.

Martinez officially joined Chelsea from Aston Villa on a deal worth £7.5 million on Sunday morning. He made his debut just hours later, helping Chelsea secure their third win of the season in a 4-3 thriller against Brighton and Hove Albion.

He made several important saves in the game, and despite conceding three goals, it was a remarkable first appearance in a Chelsea shirt.

The Argentina international wears the shirt number 26, which is quite unusual for a goalkeeper.

Chelsea’s number 26 is, of course, quite famous, for previously being worn by club legend and former captain Terry. Aside from Terry, Kalidou Koulibaly was the only other player to have donned the number 26 shirt at Chelsea in almost three decades, and now Martinez has joined the list.

“I remember using the 26 on loan a few times with previous clubs, and of course I knew John Terry famously had the 26 here,” Martinez told Chelsea’s in-house media when speaking about choosing the number.

“John was someone I spoke to before I joined, and he said he was over the moon to have me here. From our time together at Aston Villa, he knows how hard I work and what I can bring to Chelsea. JT really helped me with my decision.

“The morning I signed, I texted him and said, ‘I'm wearing your shirt, and I'm going to do it with pride.’”

Terry gave Martinez his seal of approval

Terry spent four years at Villa: a year as a player in the 2017/18 season and the rest as an assistant head coach until 2021. He worked with Martinez in his last year at Villa Park.

The former Chelsea captain clearly rated Martinez very highly, having described the goalkeeper as “the signing of the summer” when speaking on his YouTube channel.

“Everything about this guy, trust me, is top, top, top,” Terry said about Martinez.

Martinez’s arrival at Chelsea was not something initially planned by the club. He was very close to joining Juventus, but the proposed move collapsed in mid-August.

Since Villa had already brought in a replacement goalkeeper in Zion Suzuki, Martinez was then left in limbo, albeit not for long.

Chelsea were offered the opportunity to sign Martinez in late August and eventually took it. Robert Sanchez’s poor display in the season-opener win over Fulham likely played a big part in the decision.

The Spaniard conceded two easy goals in that game, a near-post howler for the first and a goalkeeping error for the second. Sanchez has since joined Serie A side Como on a season-long loan.

Martinez is now the first-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea, while highly-rated young goalkeeper Mike Penders continues to gather experience as the number two. The latter is likely going to continue to get the nod to start in cup games.

Teddy Sharman-Lowe is likely the third option as it stands, although he could face competition from Gabriel Slonina, who failed to secure an exit this summer and may stay at Chelsea.