Martinez is eighth Chelsea-Villa deal in four years
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- Emiliano Martinez signed for Chelsea from Aston Villa for £7.5m on a three-year deal, the eighth player exchange between the clubs since 2022; the 33-year-old made 256 appearances for Villa after joining from Arsenal in 2020 and helped them win the Europa League last season.
- This summer alone brought four Chelsea-Villa deals: Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for £117m, Alejandro Garnacho to Villa on loan with a conditional ~£43m obligation to buy, Nicolas Jackson to Villa for £65m, and now Martinez.
- Since 2022, Chelsea have paid Villa £163.5m for players while Villa have spent £102.5m on Chelsea players — a figure that could rise to £150.5m if Garnacho's loan is made permanent.
- Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali and Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris have developed a direct working relationship over transfer business since BlueCo's £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea in 2022.
- The volume has drawn questions from rival Premier League executives, though there is no suggestion either club has broken any rules; UEFA can scrutinise transfers between the same clubs within a 45-day window, and Garnacho's loan came just two days after Rogers signed for Chelsea.
Why it matters: The Eghbali-Sawiris direct relationship has driven eight player exchanges worth £266m+ between two clubs in four years — a pace no other Premier League pairing matches. While no rules appear broken, rival executives have raised questions and several deals fall inside UEFA's 45-day related-transaction scrutiny window.
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