Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez made history last year as the goalkeeper played a crucial role in his country’s success at the 2022 World Cup.

The Argentina international played in all seven matches of the tournament and saved a crucial penalty in the shootout during the final against France, which helped his side to secure the trophy.

Alongside his exceptional form for Argentina, the ex-Arsenal man has also been a solid performer in the Premier League for the Villans this season – starting 22 of their 24 matches in the division.

The shot-stopper was named The best men’s goalkeeper of 2022 by FIFA on Monday night, although he was strangely left out of their World XI as Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois got the nod ahead of him.

His rise has been remarkable to watch since Dean Smith swooped to sign the gloveman from fellow Premier League side Arsenal in the summer of 2020.

How much is Emi Martinez worth for Aston Villa?

In January of his first season at Villa, Football Transfers valued the 6 foot 5 stopper at £6m (€6.9m) and his impressive form for club and country in the subsequent years has led to his price soaring.

At the time of writing, Football Transfers expect his transfer value (xTV) to sit around £36m (€40.7m), meaning his potential price tag has rocketed a whopping 500% in just over two years.

The colossus, who was once hailed as “top-class” and “outstanding” by Smith, has been an incredible signing and his first year at the club was particularly impressive.

Martinez conceded 4.2 fewer goals than the average figure for post-shot xG faced by a top-flight goalkeeper, which shows that he has been bailing out his defence on a regular basis.

The Argentine star averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.18 and saved 76% of the shots on his goal in 2020/21 – establishing himself as the club’s number one and as an excellent performer in the Premier League.

In the present, the goalkeeper also ranks in the top percentile of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days for the percentage of crosses stopped. He has cut out 11.8% of the crosses towards his goal in the last year, meaning the 30-year-old has been one of the best on the continent in that aspect of his job.

These statistics show that Martinez has been a superb performer for Villa, alongside Argentina, over the years and this is reflected in his soaring market value.

As such, it’s evident to see that Smith well and truly hit the jackpot by signing the shot-stopper.