Whilst shot-stopping remains the core tenet of a custodian's job, the prevalence of a 'sweeper keeper' certainly has more mass appeal today than ever before.
Martinez doesn't get enough credit for his passing
Distribution, both short and long, now has to be on point as teams set about building up play from the back in preference to kicking it long and, more often than not, handing possession straight back to the opposition.
Emi Martinez doesn't really get too much credit for his passing skills, when the fact of the matter is that the Aston Villa man has seen his distribution success rate go up as high as 91.7% of late.
The 32-year-old appeared to be waving goodbye to supporters at the end of last season, as he was seen crying his eyes out after the final home fixture against Tottenham.
Onana on the way out at Man United?
"Anybody who knows Emi knows he is an emotional character and that's who he is," his wife, Mandinha, said in a recent interview.
"It just shows you how much he loves the Villa fans. I love the Villa fans. We love Villa."
That seemingly unequivocal show of support for the Villans might lead fans to believe that, in fact, the Argentinian World Cup winner will fulfil his contract with the club, signed a year ago and in force until 2029.
However, the keeper, who was signed by Villa from Arsenal in 2020 for £20m, has apparently become the subject of serious interest from Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim clearly doesn't fancy the current man between the sticks at Old Trafford, Andre Onana, and with good reason.
Aside from his incredible propensity for making errors, his numbers just aren't up to scratch.
Error-prone keeper needs to be replaced
A 66.9% save percentage doesn't compare favourably to Martinez's 80%, for example, and 31 punches from Onana compared to just seven from the Villa man also suggests that the Cameroonian isn't confident in his ability to catch crosses.
Passing out from the back isn't Onana's forte either, with just 63.8% of his passes finding their target.
Of the 376 shots that the United keeper faced last year, he made three errors that led directly to goals, whereas Martinez made just one mistake despite facing 413 shots.
The 115 goals conceded by Onana are 15 more than Martinez's, and in terms of presence, one can only assume that the Cameroonian's nervousness in goal at the Theatre of Dreams plays some part in his and his defence's mindset and the reason why Amorim could be set to buy from elsewhere.
Martinez has almost total command of his area
Martinez's imposing 6ft 5in stature has helped him to face down the best attackers and win, most notably for Argentina against France in the 2022 World Cup, when Randal Kolo-Muani just needed to place the ball on either side of the keeper to win his side the ultimate prize.
Commanding in the box, great on crosses and being a renowned saver of penalty kicks are also other areas of his game where it could be said he is better than his contemporary.
Indeed, in terms of one-on-one duels, Onana has won 36 of 41, giving him a success of 84.6%, whilst Martinez's 36 positive outcomes from 39 nudges his percentage up slightly higher to 92.9%.
For aerial duels, the Villa man once again comes out on top. 17 successes from 18 is superior to Onana's 21 from 24, and all of which makes United's interest in Martinez perfectly valid.
Lack of discipline must be improved
The one area where Martinez could perhaps improve is concerning his discipline. One red card and nine yellows in the past two seasons isn't the best
Intriguingly, former club Arsenal are also reported to have thrown their hats into the ring, with it being suggested that their current No.1, David Raya, might be angling for a move back to Spain just a year after making his loan move from Brentford permanent.
That would be quite the departure for Mikel Arteta, given that he was the manager who sold Martinez in the first place, preferring to keep Bernd Leno - a keeper with a stature not unlike Raya's - in situ.
Ultimately, Unai Emery and the Aston Villa board are in the box seat at this stage, given Martinez's contract situation.
Were the keeper to be persuaded by the thought of a new adventure elsewhere, it puts a different spin on things and means Villa would, in all probability, have to think about getting the best price for a player who will soon be 33 years of age.
At least Villa do have Europa League football to look forward to next season, whilst Man United can't offer Martinez any extra incentives at all after a "disaster season," as Amorim famously called it.
Whichever club end up having the luxury to call upon the keeper in 2025/26 will know that they will be in safe hands, however.
