By Bruna Reis
Copyright birminghammail
Royal Antwerp’s director of football, Marc Overmars, has revealed that Senne Lammens turned down a move to Aston Villa when Emi Martinez was keen to join Manchester United in the summer transfer window. Martinez was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford for most of the summer, and uncertainty continued right up to deadline day. Villa, on the other hand, identified Lammens as a potential replacement for Martinez if he had left the Midlands. While United pursued talks with Villa for Martinez, they were simultaneously advancing discussions for Lammens, too. In the end, the Reds secured 23-year-old goalkeeper Lammens for £18.2 million on deadline day. Explaining that negotiation period with United, Overmars – who represented Arsenal during his playing days – revealed: “When Manchester United wanted Senne Lammens, we said; ‘Listen, we’re not Brighton or Brentford, with whom you have to negotiate for weeks’. With us, things have to move quickly. “With Manchester United, we started as losers on deadline day. We had a deal with Aston Villa, but Martinez still had to leave – and Senne didn’t want to go there. Only then did Man Utd make a first offer, lower than Aston Villa. Four hours later, we finally reached an agreement.” Villa manager Unai Emery later admitted that he was content to still have Martinez in his side. “Staying here, Emi Martinez, it is good news, I am so, so happy,” he said. “He is the best goalkeeper in the world and his commitment to Aston Villa is massive. He is always training to get his best and he is always respecting Aston Villa. It is not changing. “Some circumstances happen, but everyone is happy – and the energy today was very good. Emi is happy and he knows his challenge is with Aston Villa and the Argentina national team. “He has a lot of challenges this year himself.” Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content. Our dedicated reporter John Townley – who you can follow on X by clicking here – follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here . You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club. If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here . Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here , while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here .
