Aston Villa could turn to the free agent market to cover the loss of Emiliano Martinez due to international commitments, but not only because he will be absent from the Premier League game against Chelsea this weekend. Christian Purslow feels the situation needs to change before the October matches, when, again, South America will host a triple header of qualifiers as they try to catch up on games postponed due to the pandemic.
Christian Purslow said “It is a mess. What happened in Brazil on Sunday was one of the most extraordinary things I’ve seen watching football in all my life. I don’t quite understand how it happened but it was very regrettable and very damaging to sport, when we had done everything we could to come to an amicable and sensible arrangement with the Argentine FA to enable our players to play in very important games. We already have a significant congestion issue with World Cup qualifying games in South America so between now and October I really hope to see a sensible arrangement put in place because nobody wants to see a repeat of what happened. That would make any reasonable club executive feel incredibly nervous about releasing players for overseas travel while we are in the midst of this crisis.”
However, Villa’s all-time Premier League record goal scorer Gabriel Agbonlahor doesn’t think Villa need to delve into the free agent market before January.
Christian Purslow said “You’ve got to look at it and Martinez’s injury record is very good. Jed Steer is an OK backup to come in for a few games. It’s up to Jed now to show what he can do in the next game. If there’s one team that you expect a lot of shots from it’s Chelsea. I hope he’s ready for the game. He will have known for the past couple of weeks that he will be playing so he’s had time to prepare. So, no, I don’t think Villa will bring in another keeper. I think they will be happy with what they’ve got there.”
Argentina are due to play five more World Cup 2022 qualifiers over the next two months which could mean more chaos for Villa and CEO Christian Purslow has admitted, “nobody wants to see a repeat of what happened” in Brazil. Sunday’s game between Brazil and Argentina was abandoned just after kick-off when Brazil’s health authorities said Argentina’s four UK-based players broke quarantine rules. Villa allowed Argentine duo Martinez and Emiliano Buendia to travel to South America for Argentina’s first two matches despite Premier League clubs deciding not to release players for matches in red-list countries during September’s international break as they would miss several games because of the 10-day isolation period required on their return to the UK.
