Aston Villa have been in excellent form in the Premier League since Unai Emery’s side returned from the break for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Villans have won three of their six matches in the division since coming back to action in December – beating Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, and Southampton, whilst also drawing with Wolves.
One player who returned to the club high on confidence after the winter competition was goalkeeper Emi Martinez as the former Arsenal man came back to Villa Park with a World Cup medal.
The 30-year-old won the tournament with Argentina and played a significant role in his country’s success by saving a penalty in the shootout win over France in the final.
He has also caught the eye with his performances in the Premier League this season as the ‘keeper has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.87 across 19 appearances – placing him fifth in the squad – and kept four cleans sheets in total.
In December, The Sun reported that noises had been coming out from the shot-stopper’s camp about interest from a number of other clubs and Bayern Munich were named as one of the teams who could have made a move for him, although they have since signed Yann Sommer.
Martinez, who journalist Callum Altimas once hailed as a “mad man”, could be a player the club may need to replace in one of the upcoming transfer windows if that interest from the unnamed teams becomes serious and tempts him into wanting to depart from Villa Park.
If the £120k-per-week titan does depart, whether that is this summer or in a future window, then Villa could already have his heir at the club in the form of U21 goalkeeper Oliwier Zych.
The 18-year-old colossus, who stands at 6 foot 3, has already played 16 times for the 21s after racking up 20 appearances – keeping five clean sheets – for the U18s.
This season, the teenager has kept two clean sheets and conceded just two goals in three Premier League 2 outings and has earned himself a place in Poland’s U19 set-up.
Zych had already been called up at U14, U15, U16, and U18 level by his country prior to the current campaign but is now the number-one choice for the 19s – starting and captaining Poland in a clash with the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Martinez is reportedly viewed as one of the leaders in the Villa squad and has donned the armband at times this season and this suggests that the club would lose one of the big voices on the pitch and in the dressing room with his departure.
Therefore, Zych being the captain of his country’s youth side is a big plus in his favour as it indicates that the gem has the potential to take on the leadership responsibilities that the current first-team number one has.
That, along with the 18-year-old’s form for the youth side this campaign and his experience with the youth sides, is why the Polish stopper could be the long-term heir to Martinez’s position if Emery can unearth his talent in the years to come.
