Alan Shearer now says £17m Tottenham target was ‘one of the biggest stars’ of the World Cup

By Ben Evans

There will be mixed emotions at Tottenham Hotspur this morning after an enthralling World Cup final.

Defender Cristian Romero will return with a winner’s medal around his neck, but captain Hugo Lloris will be devastated.

Speaking on BBC’s live broadcast (18/12 6:05pm), Alan Shearer was analysing the final result.

Argentina twice thought they had won the match, both in normal time and in extra-time.

However, Kylian Mbappe made sure the game went the full distance with only the second hat-trick in World Cup final history.

It wasn’t enough though, and despite converting his spot kick in the shootout, France were defeated on penalties.

Shearer was waxing lyrical about one of the stars of that shootout, goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

Martinez has been linked with Tottenham over the past week, with Dean Jones suggesting Spurs might move for him at the end of the season.

Signed by Aston Villa from north London rivals Arsenal in 2020 for £17m, his stock has only risen since then.

Martinez will forever be considered a hero in Argentina, and could end up replacing the goalkeeper he bested in Qatar last night.

Martinez one of the stars of the World Cup – Shearer

Speaking on the BBC last night, Shearer hailed Villa’s number one, saying: “We’ve mentioned Messi and all the other players around him, we perhaps haven’t mentioned one of the biggest stars as well, Emi Martinez.”

“He’s trying to wind them up, he’s kicking the ball away, he’s talking to the players, you can see what he’s doing.

“He’s putting as much pressure on them as possible.”

Fellow pundit Rio Ferdinand added: “Even his movements on the line, he’s behind the line moving, he’s just trying to get the eye of the person who’s striking the ball. His personality is really coming out.”

Birmingham Live journalist Ashley Preece has already had to reiterate Martinez has a good relationship with new manager Unai Emery.

Emery never gave Martinez a chance in the Premier League, instead preferred Bernd Leno.

He’s flourished at Aston Villa, although they may struggle to resist an approach from Tottenham who could offer Martinez European football.

Martinez was one of the stars of the World Cup, and has cemented his reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers.

He now needs to carry that form into the Premier League, with Villa facing Liverpool on Boxing Day.