Having made a £17m move to Aston Villa in the summer of 2020, Emiliano Martinez wasted no time installing himself as a fan favourite at Villa Park, with the goalkeeper starring between the Villa sticks in the club's 2020/21 campaign.

Indeed, over his 38 Premier League appearances last season, the 29-year-old kept a whopping 15 clean sheets and made an average of 3.7 saves per game - statistics which ranked him third and fourth respectively out of all the shot-stoppers in the top flight.

These returns also saw the £47k-per-week 'keeper earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.18, ranking him as Dean Smith's third-best performer in the league last term.

As a result, it is hardly surprising that Smith has praised the Argentina international's impact within his first-team squad, with the 50-year-old stating back in February: "I think Emi has probably exceeded what I thought he would bring to the team, certainly in terms of his calmness and personality."

And, the goalkeeper has continued his impressive form last time out into the current campaign, so far keeping three clean sheets and making an average of three saves over his eight top-flight appearances.

This has seen the player who Birmingham Live journalist Dan Rolinson dubbed an "unreal" talent average a SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Villa's fifth-best performer in the Premier League.

As such, the £17m fee Aston Villa's director of football Johan Lange coughed up for the 29-year-old now appears to have been something of a bargain, particularly considering Martinez's Transfermarkt valuation is sitting at a very healthy £31.5m.

However, in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield stated his belief that the Argentine is actually worth a great deal more than this Tranfsermarkt figure, suggesting a potential buyer would need nearly £70m to land the shot-stopper.

On Martinez's value, Hatfield said: "In terms of a fee, Villa are in a very good position. He only joined the club less than two years ago, and the fee they paid, almost £20m for him. He's worth triple that, maybe even quadruple now, just because of the performances he's been putting in."

So, while it would appear a highly unlikely scenario in which Aston Villa decide to cash in on the 'keeper any time soon, it would nevertheless seem as if Lange struck oil when signing the 29-year-old.

In other news: Lange must ruthlessly axe "inconsistent" £38k-p/w AVFC dud, he's stealing a living