Juventus have agreed a deal with Tottenham to sign Guglielmo Vicario on an initial season-long loan. The agreement also includes an £8.5m (€10m) option to buy the Spurs goalkeeper permanently. Juventus had previously been targeting Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez but cooled their interest after a £8.5m offer was rejected by the Premier League club.
Villa's valuation and Martinez's ongoing injury issues, including a knock to his finger, then led to Juventus turning their attention to Vicario as talks regarding a return to Italy, after joining Spurs from Empoli in 2023, intensified. Sky Sports News reported in June that Vicario was expected to leave Spurs, with Antonin Kinsky their first-choice goalkeeper. Sky in Italy reported Villa agreed a £29.9m (€35m) deal with Parma to sign goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who Juventus were also targeting on loan if he completed a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Suzuki's proposed move to PSG stalled and gave Villa fresh encouragement to move for the Japan World Cup star. The pursuit of Suzuki now leaves Martinez's future at Villa in doubt. His current deal at the club is set to expire in 2029.
Speaking on August 5, a representative of the player told Sky Sports News that he was happy at Villa and was looking forward to the new season. The Argentina World Cup-winning goalkeeper has never asked to leave Villa Park, even amid interest from Manchester United last summer and Juventus and Inter Milan this summer, according to Gustavo Goni of agency Universal TwentyTwo. Martinez will only leave with the blessing of Villa and if a deal suits all parties.
"Another transfer window, another saga involving Emiliano Martinez. The goalkeeper looked certain to leave last summer amid interest from Manchester United but that move failed to materialise. "He remained at Villa Park and his legacy at the club continued to build.
The two-time Yashin Trophy winner and 2022 World Cup winner played through an ongoing finger injury to help win the Europa League and continued to perform at the highest level in the top flight. "Only Gianluigi Donnarumma and Matz Sels had higher save percentages than Martinez (70.7 per cent) last season and while there are no doubts about his ability, his future in claret and blue raises an interesting question. "When links to an exit emerged last summer, the succession plan looked unclear.
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