{"id":341476,"date":"2025-08-13T15:29:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341476\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T15:29:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:29:30","slug":"manchester-united-guaranteed-top-five-finish-with-one-transfer-after-man-city-hijack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341476\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United ‘guaranteed top-five finish’ with one transfer after Man City hijack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester United have been informed they can achieve a strong Premier League position this season, but only if they eventually manage to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez<\/p>\n

15:26, 13 Aug 2025Updated 15:27, 13 Aug 2025<\/p>\n

\"RubenManchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has been encouraged to revisit his interest in Emi Martinez(Image: Linnea Rheborg\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Manchester United have been told they can practically guarantee a top-five finish by making one more key signing in the form of Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. Head coach Ruben Amorim<\/a> has been busy rebuilding his squad this summer after a disappointing first Premier League<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

United’s attacking options have been significantly bolstered following the arrivals of Matheus Cunha<\/a>, Bryan Mbeumo<\/a> and Benjamin Sesko<\/a>. Brighton ace Carlos Baleba has also emerged as a target<\/a> as the Red Devils look to add to their ranks in midfield.<\/p>\n

One area of the pitch where Amorim is still facing a dilemma is between the sticks as he aims to bring in competition for current No.1 goalkeeper Andre Onana<\/a>. The Cameroonian missed United’s pre-season campaign<\/a> because of a hamstring injury and committed several high profile mistakes last season.<\/p>\n

Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma is one name who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, French newspaper L’Equipe<\/a> claims that terms have already been agreed between him and neighbours Manchester City<\/a>, as Pep Guardiola<\/a> looks set to hijack any transfer to United, despite having already re-signed James Trafford from Burnley this summer.<\/p>\n

Former United<\/a> and Wrexham<\/a> keeper Ben Foster has now called on his old team to turn their focus back towards signing Aston Villa’s Martinez.<\/p>\n

A loan move for the Argentinian was reported<\/a> earlier in the transfer window, and was said to have been rejected by Villa. Foster believes he could be the missing piece to help United achieve a top-five finish this season, which would now secure them Champions League<\/a> football for the following campaign.<\/p>\n

\"AstonBen Foster believes signing Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez would guarantee Man United a top-five finish(Image: Neville Williams\/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Speaking on his Fozcast<\/a> podcast, he said: “United have got a better chance of doing it this year. I’ve loved United’s transfer window. I think it’s taken them and changed them from having another mid-table disappointment of a season to genuinely looking like competing alongside Newcastle and Villa.<\/p>\n

“I think that if United get off to a good start, they can finish fifth this season. If they get another goalkeeper in, and if Emi Martinez has signed for Man United, they finish fifth this season.”<\/p>\n

Martinez triggered worries among Villa fans that he was set to leave the club after what appeared to be an emotional goodbye at the end of last season. As he exited the pitch following the final home game of the campaign, he tearfully waved to the supporters before heading off the pitch.<\/p>\n

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Sky<\/p>\n

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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports<\/a> bundle ahead of the 2025\/26 season, saving members \u00a3192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.<\/p>\n

Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.<\/p>\n

Villa are understood to have told United that it would take an exceptional offer of around \u00a340million to sell their starting keeper.<\/p>\n

Last month, The Athletic<\/a> reported that the club would not be continuing its pursuit of Martinez due to the asking price and significant wage demands.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, ex-Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos thinks United should consider swooping for Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I think Yann Sommer is a very, very experienced player and a calming presence,” Senderos told BoyleSports<\/a>. “He makes the defence better because of that presence.<\/p>\n

“I can’t really judge Andre Onana in this situation, but if United were to target Yann Sommer, I’d really believe he’d add invaluable experience.<\/p>\n

“It’s about how he is as a person, how he is on the pitch. He’s a great character and amazing in what he brings to a defence. We’ve seen it with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich the year before.”<\/p>\n

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Fanatics<\/p>\n

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Manchester United have unveiled their new third kit for the 2025\/26 season.<\/p>\n

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.<\/p>\n

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here<\/strong><\/a> to subscribe.<\/p>\n

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And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify<\/strong><\/a> and Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a>, and you can also watch along on YouTube<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United have been informed they can achieve a strong Premier League position this season, but only if…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[8000,422,748,393,4884,2465,423,9060,99,12408,25281,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-341476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-andre-onana","9":"tag-aston-villa-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-manchester","14":"tag-manchester-united-fc","15":"tag-manchester-united-transfer-news","16":"tag-ruben-amorim","17":"tag-summer-transfer-window","18":"tag-transfer-window","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115022172328263074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}