Aston Villa are undergoing a significant refresh this summer.
Some parts of said rebuild are forced. Others by design. They could do little to prevent Manchester United from activating Youri Tielemans’ £35m release clause. The Villans watched on helplessly as Amadou Onana suffered an ACL injury at the 2026 World Cup.
You don’t rebuff a nine-figure bid for Morgan Rogers regardless of his importance. Conversely, Lucas Digne was one of the club’s highest earners. At 33 years of age, this summer was the best time to cash in on the left-back. And besides, they have Ian Maatsen waiting in the wings to succeed Digne.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Aston Villa addressing the Martinez issue
Between the sticks, there is a major shift. Emiliano Martinez is again being linked with a move away from Villa Park. One of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup heroes was expected to leave last summer. Manchester United was a rumoured destination for the 33-year-old. Ultimately, United rejected the chance to sign Martinez and plumped for Senne Lammens.
United’s decision saw Martinez return to the Midlands with his tail between his legs. While he reclaimed his starting spot and was ultimately key as Villa won the Europa League and second a top-four finish, his future was always an elephant in the room. Unai Emery’s side are addressing said elephant this summer.
Zion Suzuki is set to join from Parma before the campaign gets underway this week. This despite Martinez’s failed switch to Juventus. On yer bike, Emi – There’s a new Suzuki in town. The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a Premier League switch in recent months. Newcastle and Leeds were both credited with an interest in the Japan international. They instead opted to pursue Lukas Hornciek and James Trafford, respectively.
It paved the way for Villa to push for Suzuki. After a failed move to European champions Paris Saint-Germain, of course.
Suzuki really broke onto English radars back in March during Japan’s 1-0 win over England at Wembley. The youngster had already caught the eye for Serie A side Parma, despite missing a substantial chunk of the season with a broken hand. However, his performance between the sticks in London really thrust him into the limelight.
Suzuki and Martinez compared
So, are Villa really upgrading with Suzuki? We fired up the Comparison Matrix to find out.
While Suzuki, at 6ft3in, is a shade shorter than 6ft5in Martinez, he still has an impressive command of his area. The former managed 0.5 punches per 90 last season, a slight increase on the latter (0.3). Martinez, meanwhile, claimed 1.4 high balls per 90, that marginally higher than Suzuki (1.3).
In terms of shotstopping, both put up a comparable numbers. Suzuki placed higher for saves per 90 (3.3 to 3.1). Martinez, meanwhile, boast the slightly better save success rate (70.9% to 70.21%). Villa’s impending number one also made more ball recoveries per (8.9 to 8.7) than the man he is replacing.
Emery, though, is a manager who wants his goalkeeper to be involved in the build up. Villa managed the sixth highest possession average (53.5%) in the Premier League last season. Martinez, meanwhile, returned a passing accuracy of 73.82%, that the fifth highest of goalkeepers.
Who is the superior distributor?
This is an area to both goalkeepers’ games where Martinez, to an extent, outperforms Suzuki. The Japan star, after all, managed a passing accuracy of just 61.95%. However, this can be put down to the differing styles of play between both Villa and Parma. The latter managed a 43.7% possession average in the 2025/26 Serie A campaign.
There was a greater onus on Suzuki to help get the ball forward quicker. So, while Suzuki (35) managed fewer passes per 90 than Martinez (38.5), the former attempted more long passes per 90 (21.1) then the latter (15.4) last season. What’s more, the Japanese star maintained a better long ball accuracy (37.91%) than Martinez (36.08%).
While Villa’s style of play means Suzuki will be expected to player fewer long passes under Emery, it’s a handy weapon in his armoury that the Spaniard can utilise. Factor in that Martinez committed five errors leading to an opposition shot to Suzuki’s one in 2025/26, and Emery will hope that the mistakes at the back are eradicated.
In truth, though, Villa are future-proofing a crucial position. At 33, Martinez may still be young for a goalkeeper, but he’s a full 10 years older than his successor. What it means for Martinez now, though, remains to be seen.
It’s evident that Villa are bringing Suzuki in with a view to him being first choice. The Villans aren’t necessarily upgrading on Martinez with Suzuki given their comparable stats in their respective leagues last season, but rather preparing for the long-term. What’s clear, though, is that Suzuki is a solid replacement for Martinez that won’t impact Emery’s plans.