Aston Villa transfer news: Unai Emery gives 'green light' to make £21.6m bid for Arsenal, Barcelona-linked defender

Aston Villa have reportedly been told by Unai Emery to make an approach for Real Sociedad defender Jon Martin.

Despite Champions League qualification and a Europa League trophy, Emery will make changes to his first-team squad during the summer transfer window.

The Spaniard allegedly has a significant transfer warchest available to him as he attempts to replace some of his older players with younger stars with potential.

Earlier this week, it was alleged that Villa had already failed with a £43m+ offer for an emerging star in Serie A.

That report emerged at the same time as it was claimed that Villa had set an asking price for goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who continues to be linked with a transfer away from the West Midlands.

However, as per Ekrem Konur, who was writing for SportsBoom, Villa are also keen to acquire the services of a potential Spanish star in the making.

Who is Jon Martin?

The report alleges that Emery has given the green light for Villa to make a €25m (£21.57m) offer for Martin, who is just 20 years of age.

Martin, a four-cap Spain Under-21 international, is so highly-regarded by Real Sociedad that he possesses a contract until 2031.

A total of 50 appearances have been made in all competitions, the centre-back starring in Real Sociedad's Copa del Rey-winning campaign this season.

Arsenal and Barcelona are said to be ready to rival Villa in the race for Martin's signature, but Real Sociedad are prepared to play hardball over a fee.

Club officials reportedly have no intention of cashing in on Martin for a fee below his €50m (£43.14m) release clause.

Why Aston Villa should not invest in Jon Martin

If Arsenal or Barcelona make a formal approach for Martin, the assumption will be that Villa are outsiders.

At the same time, Martin could receive more starts for Villa, something that will be viewed as imperative at this stage of his career.

The concern from a Villa perspective will be that Martin only contributed to one clean sheet in 25 La Liga starts during 2025-26. That came at home to 16th-placed Levante.

While back-to-back clean sheets against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey semi-finals cannot be ignored, Martin does not appear ready to significantly improve the Villa backline for the time being.