Aston Villa eye up Emi Martinez replacement as Unai Emery's side consider January move for Barcelona goalkeeper

Ter Stegen offers an elite pedigree and extensive experience gained over a decade at the Nou Camp, including multiple domestic titles and a Champions League victory. This winning mentality and big-game experience would be crucial for a Villa side aiming to consistently compete at the top of the Premier League and in European competitions. 

Ter Stegen has been dislodged as No 1 choice at Barcelona and, subsequently, his name is no longer first on the team sheet for Germany at a crucial period with the World Cup looming large. He is renowned for his exceptional distribution and composure on the ball, attributes that align with the current modern football philosophy and Unai Emery's tactical approach of playing out from the back an the Villans are keen on a move, according to a report in Mundo Deportivo. 

Villa could provide him consistent playing time and the platform to perform at the highest level and  Barca, who are facing financial constraints, are reportedly open to a sale to lighten their wage bill, making a deal potentially feasible for the West Midlands club.

"They seem to be playing for each other and enjoying their football. I will always say that players in any team that are doing well, they all seem to understand each other and be out there with each other. They are all working well together."

Harewood added: "To be fair, you have to be a certain kind of person to be going in goal. To be a top goalkeeper, he has to be that sort of person. Martinez seems like he is destined for more big things. Villa are very lucky to have him. Hopefully they can have him for another season. He is a player you would want to have at your club.”

Martinez's main targets this season include securing a long-awaited trophy for Aston Villa and helping Argentina defend their World Cup title in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Argentina have already secured qualification for the tournament, with Martinez as the undisputed number one goalkeeper. He remains driven to win more titles with both club and country, building on his back-to-back Yashin Trophy wins. He signed a new contract until 2029, and set a personal target with his coach to reach the FA Cup final at Wembley.

Villa headed into the weekend's matches sitting pretty in third place, but boss Emery has highlighted just how far there is to go before fans can get excited about landing their first league title since 1981. Emery said: "Be humble, and work like we are doing the last few years, but especially the last two months.I think the players, after our poor start, they involved with me as well in the demand I have and we are trying to set in the squad every day. How we want to work, how we want to be demanding of ourselves, and how we can get consistency."

Emery added: "How we perform, the last year is an example and it's an experience for us. And sometimes we were performing well, we were achieving our objective. But maybe if we were getting our demands higher, maybe even we could get something more. And this is the reason now, this is the third year I am here, I am really very motivated but more demanding even than when I arrived here."