Aston Villa do not want to lose goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, says transfer insider Dean Jones.

The 30-year-old is said to be attracting interest from Atletico Madrid, but Jones doubts Villa are open to doing a deal.

GiveMeSport Transfer Verdict

What is the latest news involving Martinez?

According to the Daily Mirror, Martinez has emerged as a target for Atletico, who are at risk of losing their current first-choice keeper Jan Oblak.

The newspaper claims that a number of clubs, including Manchester United, are monitoring the Slovenia international, hence Atletico's interest in Martinez.

Martinez joined Villa from Arsenal in a £17m deal back in 2020 and has been a key player for them ever since.

In total, he has made 83 appearances for the Midlands club and kept 27 clean sheets along the way, showing his value to the side.

What has Jones said about Martinez and Villa?

Jones says Martinez is not a player Villa and Steven Gerrard will want to lose.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: "Villa obviously would not want to lose Martinez at all, but he's established himself as a very, very good goalkeeper in the Premier League. He'll be in the Argentina set-up, too, for the World Cup, so he'll be really focused on that."

Will Villa sell Martinez?

It is going to take a gigantic offer to convince Villa to sell Martinez in January or next summer. He is tied down to a contract until 2027 and, as already mentioned, is an extremely important player for the team.

Speaking about the Argentina international earlier this year, Gerrard said (via Express & Star): “For us to go on this journey and get to the destination we all want to get to, you need as many good footballers as you can around.

"He’s above good - we know that - he’s operating at a world-class level so it is a statement and having his services here will help me attract more talent and also to retain the talent we’ve got in the door.”

When you consider all of that, Martinez certainly is a player who Gerrard will not want to see leave Villa Park. So again, Atletico or any other club interested in the former Arsenal man are going to have to offer huge money if they want to sign him in the new year.

And even if that does happen, given that Martinez's contract goes all the way into 2027, there is no guarantee that Villa will actually play ball.