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The story
Chelsea announced on August 30 the signing of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez (33) from Aston Villa on a three-year contract. Martínez helped Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar and had been Villa’s last line of defense since 2020, making 256 appearances in all competitions for the club. For Japan international goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, also of Aston Villa, the move removes his main rival for the starting spot, and 5ch lit up with reactions like “Guess it’s sink or swim with Zion this season” and “Zion’s starting spot is locked in now.” Others questioned whether the move is really a step up given Chelsea’s current form, leaving opinion split on whether this counts as progress for Martínez.
Chelsea announced on the 30th that they have signed goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez (33) from Aston Villa.
The deal is reported to be a three-year contract.
Martínez helped Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar and also guarded the goal at the North/Central America World Cup. He had been with Aston Villa since September 2020, making 256 appearances for the club across all competitions.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Is he gonna dominate the Premier League like Son Heung-min??
Nobody's dumb enough to compare a forward and a goalkeeper
Because his ability is on a completely different level
Reminder: he's not actually a troublemaker
Good timing, since the transfer market's about to close
2026-27 season
Transfer deadline dates by league
https://dec.2chan.net/up2/src/fu7192727.png
Zion's starting spot was probably written into his contract
Though the Martínez move might've been arranged first
Either way, it's win-win for both sides
Better for Zion to be here than bouncing around on loan somewhere
The Martínez transfer talk probably came first, yeah
He won't lose the spot to some backup, right?
Well, it's a results business so who knows
That backup just
conceded 4 goals
so they'll be using Zion
Wonder if Emery lasts till winter
Villa's made some pretty good signings, so
I think they'll stay up
He just wanted an environment where he could actually start, rather than being Chelsea's 2nd or 3rd choice keeper
Was there even an offer from Chelsea in the first place? lol
Meanwhile Doan basically got forced into a Saudi move
He could've just refused like Kamada did
The Saudi move was Doan's own decision
That's totally beside the point
I only watch overseas broadcasts year-round, and
during the World Cup, just minutes into Japan's match, commentators were gushing "Marvelous," "Excellent" about Zion
No other Japanese player got that level of praise
Bottom line, the Japan national team is basically Zion's team
They advanced because Zion made save after save
That's how it's seen overseas
If the player refuses, the transfer falls through. Back in the day, if a player rejected a deal both clubs had agreed on, clubs outside Germany would often freeze him out of the squad as punishment, but you don't hear about that much anymore
Current Chelsea is more of a step down, honestly
Guess he got out just in time
Most of the players they brought in to replace last year's regulars barely play, and last year's regulars are injured too
Last match's Aston Villa lineup was far from their best XI
That's just what mid-table clubs do — sell while the price is good
Suzuki's got number 1?
Well, they did pay a decent chunk of money for him
No, Chelsea's the bigger club here
If anything, they're title contenders
Isn't he getting overlooked way too much?
Does this guy think Zion's some kind of naturalized citizen?
He was born and raised in Urawa — I'd be shocked if a mixed-Japanese guy ("half," the common Japanese term for someone of mixed parentage) from there couldn't speak Japanese
I'm surprised you don't know he's been playing for Chelsea in real time
He's had the fracture since before the World Cup
It hurts but he's able to play through it
There was talk of surgery, though — wonder if he'll end up skipping it
Background and Talking Points
Martínez joined Aston Villa in 2020 and helped Argentina win the 2022 Qatar World Cup. For Zion Suzuki, who had mostly been a backup since joining Villa, the move removes his main rival for the starting job, and the thread was full of comments welcoming his expanded playing time. On the other hand, Chelsea’s current form isn’t great, so some saw the move as a “step down” for Martínez, leaving opinion divided. The fact that Martínez has kept playing with a broken finger was also a talking point. A mistaken claim also circulated that Suzuki — who was born and raised in Urawa — can’t speak Japanese; this isn’t true and was corrected within the thread.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinosuposoku+) thread “[Soccer] Argentina GK Emiliano Martínez, teammate of Japan national team GK Zion Suzuki at Aston Villa, transfers to Chelsea“.
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