With the World Cup taking centre stage for the next five weeks, Premier League clubs are continuing their preparations for the 2026/27 campaign.

Aston Villa are no exception, as they look to continue their progress under Unai Emery. The Villa Park outfit lifted the Europa League last campaign and finished fourth in the table.

Winning a major trophy and qualifying for the Champions League puts Villa in a much stronger financial position as they aim to build a squad that can compete with Europe’s elite clubs.

However, there are poised to be exits as Villa still require some sales to balance the books and keep themselves on the right side of the Premier League and UEFA’s financial rules.

Emi Martinez agrees personal terms with Juventus

One player who could leave this summer is goalkeeper Emi Martinez. The 33-year-old is part of Argentina’s World Cup squad as they seek to defend their crown after winning the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

According to Corriere Dello Sport in Italy, Martinez has already reached a general agreement on a three-year contract with Serie A giants Juventus.

The Italian club had been interested in signing Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker but the Anfield club were resistant to losing the Brazilian this summer.

Juve have now turned their attention to Martinez, with Villa asking for £8.5million plus add-ons for the transfer to go ahead. However, the Old Lady are keen to reduce the asking price before proceeding with the deal.

Martinez is under contract at Villa until 2029, having penned a new five-year deal back in 2024.

Aston Villa should hold firm on Emi Martinez price

Rodrigo Valle via Reuters

He came close to leaving the club last summer as Manchester United weighed up a move before signing Senne Lammens.

Martinez retained his number one spot under Emery and went on to make 44 appearances in all competitions.

It was previously reported that Villa are open to selling the goalkeeper due to his £230,000-a-week wages.

However, Villa should resist any attempts from Juve to lower the £8.5million fee and the add-ons in the deal should be achievable ones.

Martinez is not getting any younger but, like many goalkeepers, he can still play at a high level for several more years. With Villa needing to sanction some sales, selling a regular starter for such a low transfer fee would be a mistake.

The Argentine still has several years to run on his contract and there will likely be more interest in the player if Villa are open to selling. A replacement is also likely to prove costly too, so Villa should be in no rush to push a deal through.

Everton remain in talks for Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney and are prepared to pay around £20m, GIVEMESPORT understands.

The Toffees have already seen two bids rejected as Middlesbrough hold out for £25million for their highly-rated midfielder.

Although Everton are considered frontrunners, Crystal Palace are expected to make an offer in the coming days as they try and persuade the 23-year-old to join the Selhurst Park club instead.

Two other teams are also interested in signing Hackney this summer

Tottenham and Manchester United also have Hackney on their radar, but neither have yet decided to make their move as they prioritise other targets. Both clubs could go head-to-head for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, who is also appreciated by Liverpool and has other English clubs starting to make initial enquiries as well.

GMS understands that Hackney is currently prioritising Everton, but Crystal Palace can also offer him game time and his pathway to regular starts will be made easier if one or both of Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada depart.

Middlesbrough wish to keep Hackney, but that has been complicated by their failure to win promotion to the Premier League. The 23-year-old started 38 of Boro’s 46 Championship games this season, missing the last eight of the campaign and all but 20 minutes of the play-off final, due to injury.

Everton open talks over new deal for star man

Former Man Utd and Leeds midfielder Godon Strachan said of Hackney: “He’s been absolutely brilliant. He takes your breath away when you watch him and he’s matured in his play. People will ask if he’s for sale and really, everyone is for sale.”

Elsewhere, Everton are in talks with Iliman Ndiaye over a new deal. The France-born Senegal international is already contracted until 2029, but the club wants to offer improved terms.

There has been no breakthrough as of now, but Everton are still in talks and hoping to fend off interest from growing interest, including from Manchester United.

Ndiaye, who has been described as ‘one of the most exciting attackers in the Premier League’, enjoyed a fine season with the Toffees in the most recent campaign, registering six goals and three assists as they finished in mid-table. It has previously been reported that Old Trafford would be his ‘dream move’.

Tottenham‘s best piece of business this summer may not involve a new signing. Spurs are in for a busy off-season, with Roberto De Zerbi intent on overhauling a squad that has finished in the bottom half for two successive campaigns.

The Spurs board has vowed to a third season in the doldrums, and they know it’s going to take significant investment to turn things around. There has been investment during that two-year run, with Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons among the pricey signings, but the results only further highlight the need to improve recruitment as well as investment levels.

Part of that recruitment strategy must include keeping hold of the club’s best players, and there is some good news for Spurs fans on that front.

Spurs aware of double departure danger

Tottenham are bracing themselves to lose Cristian Romero this summer, with the Argentine almost certain to leave North London. Romero has repeatedly called out the club over how things are being run, and while he has continued to be an exemplary leader on the pitch, it’s clear he is ready to move on.

With Marcos Senesi and another likely signing at centre-back, Spurs are prepared for Romero to leave, even though it is unlikely to happen until his World Cup campaign comes to an end.

But what Tottenham cannot afford is to lose their other starting centre-back in Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman has been one of the club’s best players for some time, and while he has had some troubling muscular injury issues, there is no doubting that he is a player to build a defence around.

Former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou highlighted Van de Ven’s star quality, once saying: “He’s top. He could be as good as he wants to. You watch him at the World Cup, I reckon they’ll play him at left back and he’ll be unbelievable. Once he gets going, technically he’s good, his ability to cover ground is phenomenal. You’d set him up against any striker in the world, without any fear that he will get outmuscled and definitely not outrun.”

Spurs move to hand out new deal to van de Ven

Well aware of the danger of losing Van de Ven, who has been linked with clubs like Real Madrid in the past, Spurs are now said to be plotting a new contract for Van de Ven to keep him locked down.

Ben Jacobs reported on the Market Madness podcast: “Jan Paul van Hecke is a key priority, and that’s a clue in many ways that Cristian Romero is still expected to depart. Micky van de Ven, I think there’s a strong chance he’ll stay at Tottenham and sign a new deal, despite interest, because he’s really enjoying life under Roberto De Zerbi, and obviously Tottenham don’t want to lose both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero in the same window.”

That will be music to the ears of Tottenham fans, who will see Van de Ven as a player they simply cannot afford to lose. The Dutchman is under contract until 2029 already, but Spurs will likely look to add a year or two to that in exchange for a nice pay top-up.