UNAI EMERY produced a “Hall of Fame” Premier League moment with his utterly bizarre pre-match interview.
The Aston Villa manager spoke to Sky Sports before facing Crystal Palace.
One of the key questions was surrounding his choice of goalkeeper.
Emi Martinez was left out of the matchday squad – with summer signing Marco Bizot starting in between the sticks.
It came with kick-off at Villa Park 24 hours before the transfer window closing.
And Martinez’s future is a hot topic amid reports he has agreed personal terms with Manchester United.
But when quizzed on the World Cup winner’s absence, Emery replied in frankly hilarious fashion – simply repeating Bizot’s name.
The reporter asked: “Emi Martinez not in the squad tonight – why is that?”
Emery replied: “Bizot. Marco Bizot.”
The reporter pressed: “Where is Emi Martinez though?”
But Emery responded: “Marco Bizot.”
The reporter then added: “Will he be your future goalkeeper?”
And Emery had had enough.
For the third time, he said: “Marco Bizot. The time [for the interview] is over.”
Emery then walked off to make his final preparations for the clash.
The baffling interaction immediately went viral on social media.
One said: “Unai Emery is pure gold.”
Another wrote: “Unai Emery has just delivered a Hall of Fame interview.”
A third commented: “NEVER CHANGE UNAI EMERY: Possibly the greatest pre-match interview. Emery knocks down rumors of Emi Martinez being sold to United by just shouting the name of his replacement. Convincing.”
And a final user responded: “This is some serious black belt skills in media management by Unai Emery.”
Incredibly, 20 minutes into the game, Bizot was at the centre of the drama as he wiped out Daichi Kamada as the Japanese star rounded him.
Referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot and Jean-Philippe Mateta rolled his penalty past Bizot to break the deadlock.
As for Martinez, unconfirmed sightings suggested the Argentine keeper was in Dudley this morning, watching his son play football.
If true, on a matchday that might have given a clue as to the fact he wasn’t going to feature in manager Emery’s thoughts.
Villa are stressing that, as yet, no bid has been received for their No1 keeper.
Instead, they claim merely that he was left out so that the rest of the squad could concentrate on their fixture against the Eagles without ongoing speculation drawing unwanted attention on Emery’s side.
Witnesses say he wasn’t with the squad when they stepped from the team bus 90 minutes before kick-off against Oliver Glasner’s side.
Martinez missed the opening game of the season through suspension so Bizot faced Newcastle while the ex-Arsenal stopper played against Brentford.
But he could be on the move to United tomorrow as Ruben Amorim looks for a solution to his blundering goalkeeper problem with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir struggling.
SunSport revealed Red Devils players even want Tom Heaton to get a chance in between the sticks as their patience runs out with the others.
They have also been linked with Belgian stopper Senne Lammens, with an imporved offer said to have been tabled on Sunday for the Anderlecht No1.
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