Bayern Munich have been urged to consider signing Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as the replacement for Manuel Neuer.
Neuer will be out for several months after suffering a lower leg fracture while skiing on holiday after Germany’s exit from the World Cup.
The injury has left Bayern desperately scrambling to find a replacement, with neither Sven Ulreich nor Johannes Schenk fancied as long-term replacements for Neuer.
There is a potential plan to bring Alexander Nübel back from a loan spell at Monaco, although that may prove tricky to do as the current deal does not include an option for Bayern to do so in January.
That could lead them to looking at goalkeepers who are currently in vogue and that would certainly include Martinez, who has been shining for Argentina at the World Cup.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper has been shining for his country once again, with a series of impressive performances for the Albiceleste as they have reached the final in Qatar.
“The serious injury to Manuel Neuer has put Bayern in a very difficult situation for which they can do nothing,” he wrote in his column for Sky Sports Germany.
“Bayern are buying themselves time with a possible Nübel return. I think they should sign a goalkeeper who is then guaranteed a real chance to stay in goal after Neuer’s return, if he earns it with good performances in the coming months.
“The questions are: Will Neuer return and if so, how? The performances have already not been what they used to be lately. He didn’t hold up well at the World Cup either.
“At 36 and soon to be 37, it is an enormous ordeal to slog through months of rehab.
“If the Bayern bosses think that they are now going to get a keeper who has the potential to guard the Bayern goal for years to come, they could also think of Argentine international Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa or look into the Croatian goalkeeper.”
