Aston Villa eye James Trafford to replace Emi Martinez | OneFootball

Aston Villa are weighing up a summer move for Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford as uncertainty grows around Emiliano Martinez’s future.

According to the Daily Mail, Villa are open to offers for Martinez, with the Argentina international increasingly likely to depart at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old came close to leaving Villa Park last summer after attracting significant transfer interest.

While no formal bid materialised, there has long been an acceptance behind the scenes that his stay in the Midlands could be nearing its natural conclusion.

Signed for around £16million in 2020, Martinez has since become one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers. Villa stand to make a little profit from his sale.

Offloading one of their top earners would also ease ongoing financial pressures as the club looks to remain compliant with both Premier League and UEFA spending regulations.

With that in mind, attention has turned to the ‘incredible’ Trafford.

The 23-year-old is emerging as a serious option as the Villains begin planning for a potential transition between the sticks.

Trafford has not received enough playing time at City following the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Despite earning his senior England debut during the recent international break, opportunities at club level have been limited to 270 league minutes this season.

However, his reputation remains strong. He has made only three league appearances but has recorded one shut-out and prevented 1.89 goals.

Trafford was instrumental in Burnley’s promotion campaign last term.

He kept an outstanding 29 clean sheets in 45 appearances and outperformed his goals-prevented metric.

Those performances underlined his potential as a long-term No.1, something he is now keen to re-establish.

Villa view Trafford as a goalkeeper capable of growing into the role should Martinez depart.

Younger, ambitious, and already tested in English football, he can be the perfect successor to Martinez.