Emi Martinez’s father has given his backing to his son joining Manchester United at the end of the season.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper has been linked with the Red Devils (along with Chelsea and Tottenham) in recent weeks and, when asked if the World Cup winner should make the move to Old Trafford, Beto Martinez said:

“I hope he goes to one of those great teams, until now he has his head in Aston Villa.”

There has been some speculation that Villa boss Unai Emery is not a fan of Martinez and that viewpoint was reinforced after the Spaniard criticised the shot-stopper for his decision to go up for a corner late on in the 4-2 defeat to Arsenal.

However, Beto has emphasised that Emery doesn’t want the 30-year-old to leave Villa Park, and it will be up to the player to decide whether he wants to move to a bigger club.

United are unlikely to make an offer for Martinez unless David De Gea decides against signing a new contract. The current number one has a deal that expires at the end of June but he will need to take a pay cut if he wants to put pen to paper on an extension.