Juve close in on Dibu Martinez as Aston Villa open to a discount

Corriere dello Sport relaunches it: Emiliano 'Dibu' Martinez is closing in on Juventus, with Aston Villa now ready to grant a discount on their asking price for the Argentine goalkeeper, who has already said yes to the Bianconeri. In the background an alternative for the goal remains - Sky Sport and Corriere itself point to Guglielmo Vicario - while Tuttosport lists Dibu among the hottest files on Carnevali's desk.

The trail started quietly at the beginning of June: Sky Sport listed Emiliano 'Dibu' Martinez, the Aston Villa goalkeeper, among Juventus' hot files for the goal, alongside the one for striker Sorloth. Eurosport explained why 'Dibu' could be the right goalkeeper for the Bianconeri's future.

The acceleration came on 9 June. Oggi Sport Notizie reported ongoing contacts between the Juventus hierarchy and the player's entourage; that evening La Gazzetta dello Sport went big - 'Martinez to Juve can now be done' - with Aston Villa asking 15m and the Bianconeri working on a discount.

The breakthrough came from Sky Sport, in the night between 9 and 10 June: agreement reached between Juventus and Dibu Martinez. Eurosport confirmed the deal with the goalkeeper, moving the dossier to the clubs' table; SNAI and Planetwin365 echoed the Argentine's 'yes', to whom Gazzetta dedicated a profile as a 'mad and brilliant goalkeeper'.

From there the deal has not been plain sailing. Sky Sport returned to the topic - 'Juve-Dibu, what's missing?' - and Gazzetta, in its 'Il Blitz' episode, pointed to the financial knot with Aston Villa as the main obstacle; according to Sportmediaset, meanwhile, the sale of Di Gregorio (called to Besiktas) would free up the spot for Dibu. Calciomercato.com then reported that the Villans' demand had dropped to 10m, down from the 15m at the start of the month.

Complicating the picture, around 25 June an alternative trail had emerged: Tuttosport spoke of a 'Svilar opening' after a summit at the Continassa and SportPaper had Juve ready to sign the goalkeeper from Roma, but Corriere dello Sport flagged the Giallorossi's no to offers, with Gasperini standing firm.

Today the picture has cleared. Corriere dello Sport writes that 'Dibu Martinez is closing in on Juve' and that Aston Villa are 'ready to discount', with Guglielmo Vicario named as the alternative; Sky Sport is on the same line, headlining 'from Dibu Martinez to Vicario: the latest on the goalkeeper'. Tuttosport, for its part, lists Dibu among the ten hottest files on Carnevali's desk. The current state of play: terms with the player confirmed, Aston Villa now open to a discount on their demand and a goalkeeper's exit to sort out, with Vicario ready in the background should the Villans' wall fail to come down.

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