It is less than nine months since Emiliano Martinez sat before a few hundred Aston Villa fans in the club’s new superstore and announced he had committed himself to the club for five more years.
‘I became the best in the world here,’ he said. ‘I feel the same love here as I feel for the national team, so why change?’
The contract made Martinez one of Villa’s top earners and at that moment, it felt reasonable to assume he would spend the rest of his career at Villa Park. Yet with Premier League spending rules a constant noise in the background, it now seems possible this season could be Martinez’s last in the West Midlands.