Manchester United\u2019s search for a reliable goalkeeper has intensified, with Emiliano Martinez at the centre of growing transfer speculation. The Aston Villa keeper was absent from his club\u2019s squad during their 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, raising fresh questions over his future.<\/p>\n
After the loss, Villa manager Unai Emery admitted that discussions were ongoing. He told Sky Sports the club \u201chave to fix\u201d the situation, adding: \u201cOne of the situations we are speaking about is Emi Martinez, but we will see tomorrow. We have to fix it with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Villa Struggles and Transfer Deadline Pressure<\/p>\n
Villa remain winless in the Premier League this season, losing twice and drawing once. They are also the only side across England\u2019s top four divisions yet to score a league goal. Emery has not hidden his frustration as the transfer window nears its conclusion. Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, he said: \u201cWe need others, of course. I am happy with the players we have, but we have to get something more in the squad. We have some circumstances that are not helping us. Tomorrow the transfer window is finishing. Hopefully, we can keep balance with the squad after it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When pressed on Martinez\u2019s absence, Emery repeatedly responded \u201cBizot\u201d, a nod to Marco Bizot, the keeper selected to start against Palace. Meanwhile, Palace defender Marc Guehi, who has attracted a \u00a335 million bid from Liverpool, scored his team\u2019s second goal in the match.<\/p>\n
Manchester United\u2019s Goalkeeping Dilemma<\/p>\n
At Old Trafford, there is recognition that United\u2019s current goalkeeping situation is far from secure. Manager Ruben Amorim summed it up after their 3-2 win over Burnley, admitting: \u201cI think it is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment.\u201d Both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir have struggled, with Bayindir\u2019s error at Turf Moor almost costing United vital points before Bruno Fernandes\u2019 injury-time penalty spared them.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/imago1065649417-scaled.jpg\")
Photo IMAGO<\/p>\n
This instability has placed renewed focus on United\u2019s transfer targets. Martinez remains an option, but Villa have already dismissed the idea of a loan move earlier in the summer. The 32-year-old is a World Cup winner, a two-time FIFA goalkeeper of the year, and has 197 Premier League appearances behind him.<\/p>\n
Senne Lammens on United\u2019s Radar<\/p>\n
Another name in the frame is Senne Lammens, the 23-year-old Belgian at Royal Antwerp. Negotiations are underway, with United exploring the possibility of signing him before the transfer deadline. Lammens has been omitted from Antwerp\u2019s last two games, and the Belgian club are under pressure to sanction a sale to ease financial commitments.<\/p>\n
Lammens has made clear he wants the move, but his lack of top-level experience stands in stark contrast to Martinez\u2019s proven pedigree. Galatasaray are also monitoring the situation, with interest in both Lammens and potentially Bayindir or Onana, depending on United\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
United insiders have indicated that only one goalkeeper will arrive before the window closes at 19:00 BST on Monday. The choice lies between gambling on potential or securing a battle-hardened winner.<\/p>\n
United\u2019s Defining Transfer Decision<\/p>\n
For Manchester United, this could prove one of the most defining transfers of the summer. Martinez may yet depart Villa Park after what appeared to be a farewell to supporters last season, while Lammens represents the allure of youth and long-term planning.<\/p>\n
What is clear is that United must act decisively. Their goalkeeping issues cannot be allowed to undermine ambitions for the campaign, and the next few hours could dictate whether stability is finally restored between the posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United\u2019s search for a reliable goalkeeper has intensified, with Emiliano Martinez at the centre of growing transfer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[11382,8000,102,748,873,9029,1925,49247,393,1123,1057,126319,4884,179,2465,98,2697,101,133083,99,67364,2357,16,6543,15,37880],"class_list":{"0":"post-389072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-altay-bayindir","9":"tag-andre-onana","10":"tag-aston-villa","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-bruno-fernandes","13":"tag-burnley","14":"tag-crystal-palace","15":"tag-emiliano-martinez","16":"tag-england","17":"tag-featured","18":"tag-galatasaray","19":"tag-goalkeeper-transfers","20":"tag-great-britain","21":"tag-liverpool","22":"tag-manchester","23":"tag-manchester-united","24":"tag-marc-guehi","25":"tag-premier-league","26":"tag-royal-antwerp","27":"tag-ruben-amorim","28":"tag-senne-lammens","29":"tag-transfers","30":"tag-uk","31":"tag-unai-emery","32":"tag-united-kingdom","33":"tag-villa-park"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115128793103235726","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389072","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=389072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}