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Emi Martinez has completed his move to Chelsea, though he will not feature against Brighton this afternoon.
Standard Sport reported during the week that Chelsea had agreed a £7.5million deal with Aston Villa to upgrade their goalkeeping options, with Martinez expected to become Xabi Alonso’s No1.
Standard Sport understands the move came about after the Blues were offered Martinez by intermediaries and the Argentina international communicated to the club that he was keen on joining.
The 33-year-old has got his wish with his move being announced on Sunday morning, saying it was an “easy decision” to join Chelsea.
“I’m delighted to be at this football club,” he said. “Coming to Chelsea, for me and my family, was an easy decision to make and I’m just over the moon – I can’t wait to get started.
“I want to be successful here. I'm someone who wants to win at everything I do and I want to bring that here to this football club because it’s a football club that wins titles, so I think it’s a good match.
“I’m all passion and I play with my heart. I will give 100 per cent every game, every training session to make the club, my teammates and the supporters proud.”
While Martinez’s move has been announced ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League fixture at home to Brighton on Sunday, Alonso will not have his latest summer signing available for selection.
For Martinez to have been eligible to make his debut against Brighton, he had to have been registered by Friday's 12pm BST deadline.
As such, the next opportunity to hand the goalkeeper a debut will come after the transfer window slams shut when Chelsea travel to the Emirates Stadium to face his former club Arsenal next Sunday.
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