Emiliano Martinez rejected other offers to join Chelsea after Xabi Alonso axed Robert Sanchez for £7.5m deal

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez turned down approaches from rival clubs to sign for Chelsea, after Xabi Alonso moved swiftly to offload Robert Sanchez following two high-profile errors in Monday's win over Fulham. The Argentine World Cup winner is set to become Chelsea's first-choice number one after the Blues agreed a cut-price £7.5m fee with Villa. Alonso had previously stated publicly that he was satisfied with the options available to him in goal, only to dramatically reverse course.

Sanchez made two costly mistakes against Fulham, prompting Alonso to sanction the move despite earlier public backing for the Spaniard.

Former Premier League keeper Shaka Hislop called Martinez 'ten times out of ten over Sanchez — it's not even a discussion.'

Chelsea are also monitoring Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara as a potential late-window signing, with a deal possibly hinging on Enzo Fernandez's departure.