Analysis: Dreams and speculation alive for Aston Villa as season goes to the wire
Friday night kept Villa’s Champions League chase alive and fuelled speculation for what might follow.
Just seconds after the final whistle, the narrative had already begun to turn from a 2-0 win over Tottenham which saw Unai Emery’s team, for now, climb into the Premier League top five, to the tears of Emi Martinez and just what they might mean for the goalkeeper’s future.
The Argentina international stood on the edge of his penalty box, gloved hand to his face, for more than a minute before embarking on a slow walk across the pitch toward the Holte End.
He was the last player to leave the field, eyes wet, hands raised in what many were quick to interpret as a wave of farewell.
Maybe, or maybe not. Those inside Emery’s inner sanctum were quick to dismiss the idea any deal has been agreed to sell any player this summer. A fanbase which can still recall a tearful Jack Grealish throwing his shirt into the crowd at Hull in 2018 should know in football, few things are ever really certain. At least not at this time of year.
Yet if this wasn’t definitely the end, Martinez’s reaction spoke of a man who believed it might be. The interest in the 32-year-old from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in Europe is no mere paper talk.
Emery, speaking in his post-match press conference, did little to offer any assurances over the World Cup winners future or that of Leon Bailey, who appeared to be crying before coming on as a late substitute.
