Aston Villa are yet to sign a player in the transfer window this summer, but have continued to be linked with various talents such as Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahama continuously - recent reports have emerged that Emiliano Martinez of Arsenal is a target for Dean Smith at Villa.
It should come as no surprise that Villa are in the market for a goalkeeper, after conceding 67 goals last season in the Premier League - Villa are looking to plug their leaky back line.
Jasper Cillessen of Valencia was previously linked with a move to B6, though these rumours have recently died down, with Villa's interest being turned to the shot-stopper who featured in Arsenal's FA Community Shield triumph against Liverpool last week.
The Argentinian is on the hunt for more regular first team football, which he may well be able to get in the long term at Villa.
Tom Heaton revealed his unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained on New Year’s Day has meant he will miss the start of the season but expects to be back in action by October 2020. This would give Martinez the chance to settle in at the club before competing with Heaton for the number one spot.
Martinez has only made 15 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, most of those resulted from an unfortunate injury that Bernd Leno against Brighton during the Premier League's restart.
At the age of 27, Martinez has only made 71 senior appearances throughout his career but caught the eyes of many on a loan spell with Reading in the 2018/19 season. He saw the season out with the Royals and took to the Championship very quickly - winning a man of the match award in his second game, a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa.
Martinez went on to make 18 appearances for Reading, conceding 23 goals during his time there - conceding an average of 1.27 goals per 90 minutes in the Championship.
Orjan Nyland was Villa's main man between the sticks during the 2018/19 Championship season and conceded 31 goals in 23 appearances - conceding an average of 1.35 goals per 90 minutes.
In Martinez's 15 Premier League appearances, he conceded only 16 goals - conceding an average of 1.06 goals per 90 minutes of football. The Argentinian also managed an impressive six clean sheets for Arsenal.
Compared to Villa's number one, Tom Heaton conceded 33 goals in 20 Premier League appearances for Villa last season. Conceding an average of 1.65 goals per 90 minutes. Heaton only managed to keep four clean sheets for Villa before his injury.
Orjan Nyland featured intermittently last season for Villa, only making seven appearances and conceded 12 goals - the Norwegian conceded an average of 2.01 goals per 90 minutes. Nyland managed only one clean sheet in his short stint as Villa's Premier League number one.
Emiliano Martinez's clean sheet record is impressive when compared to Villa's current goalkeeping options - though it must be considered how little first team action Martinez has had in the top flight of English football.
Martinez managed an average of 27 passes per game during his 8 appearances in the Premier League last season, with 67% of those passes being accurate.
Heaton managed an average of 26 passes per game, with only 52% of his passes being accurate. Nyland only averaged around 22 passes per game, though his passing accuracy is slightly better than Heaton’s, completing 53% of those passes.
Again, Martinez tops the charts against Villa's current goalkeepers. Playing out from the back is an important facet of being a Premier League goalkeeper in the modern game. That paired with his impressive clean sheet record points towards Martinez being the perfect fit for Aston Villa between the sticks.
At 27 years old, he's got plenty of time to develop - which again lends itself to the project Dean Smith is running at Villa. Regular first team football for Martinez could also lead to him challenging Manchester United's Sergio Romero for the number one spot in the Argentinian national team.
TransferMarkt has Martinez valued at £6.2m, Villa are reportedly preparing a bid of £10m to bring him to Villa Park. With Arsenal in need of cash, a deal could well be struck here which benefits both parties. At what is a relatively low fee, Martinez could well become Villa's number one for years to come.