However, no exit ever materialised. Martinez is thought to have been a target for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, though the Red Devils instead chose to sign young Belgian Senne Lammens, while previous interest from the Saudi Pro League also never came to fruition. He remains a Villa player and has featured in 21 games so far this term, helping the Villans up to third in the Premier League table.
While Martinez may desire a move away, one of the problems for him is that he signed a new contract with Villa in August 2024 which still has over three years left to run. That means the club will likely want a decent transfer fee to facilitate an exit, especially with Villa so financially hamstrung in recent years.
That could arrive from Italy, with Inter keen on making a move. Their interest has been known since December, where it was claimed the Italian side were keen on recruiting Martinez during the January transfer window. The report added that Villa would be satisfied to cash in on the World Cup winner, and now Gianluca Di Marzio has claimed Inter have been in touch with Martinez’s representatives to learn the terms of a potential move. Inter are keen on replacing current No.1 Sommer, who is not thought to have convinced manager Cristian Chivu and whose contract with the club will expire in the summer.
One issue would be that Martinez is on a relatively high salary at Villa and would likely have to accept a reduction in order to facilitate a deal with Inter.
