Emi Martinez: ‘Wolves offered £10 million to buy me’ after loan spell | OneFootball

Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, now a World Cup-winning goalkeeper, once endured a low-key loan at Wolves before his rise to the elite.

After joining Arsenal’s academy, he had spells at Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham, then in 2015 arrived at Molineux on a season-long deal under Kenny Jackett.

He was back-up to Carl Ikeme, made 13 appearances in all competitions and kept five clean sheets, a thigh injury further limited his time.

Martinez returned to Arsenal, later spent time on loan at Getafe and Reading, then moved to Villa in a £17m transfer, becoming central to Unai Emery’s side in the Premier League and Champions League.

“I remember when I was young, I had a loan from Wolves; Wolves offered £10 million to buy me.”

He was speaking on the Fozcast podcast in 2024.

“That was a long time ago, some big money. I thought ‘ooof, thinking about it, oh no no stay stay’, they signed Petr Cech. Like cheers, one of the best ever goalies in the Premier League so how can I; it was a massive climb to do it again. So there was always blocks on the way.”

Source: ExpressAndStar.com