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Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has raised serious questions over Chelsea’s decision to bring in goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez late in the summer transfer window. The outspoken pundit openly disagreed with Ian Wright’s recent view that the Argentina international will improve the Blues, pointing instead to major defensive concerns from his spell at Aston Villa despite the relatively low transfer fee.

Keane unconvinced by Chelsea move

Chelsea have completed a £7.5 million deal to sign Martinez from Aston Villa after Robert Sanchez turned in an unconvincing display in their opening match.

The modest fee has been widely praised, with Wright saying on The Overlap: "I think it’s a great signing for Chelsea. He’s the goalkeeper that can take them to that next level because they needed to do something there."

Keane, though, firmly disagreed with that verdict, making it clear he has major reservations about the transfer and drawing attention to the number of goals the goalkeeper let in during the previous season.

Strong criticism of the goalkeeper

Keane was blunt in his verdict on Chelsea’s new No.1. The former midfielder said: "I don’t know if that’s a great signing for Chelsea. I know they needed a new goalkeeper but I’m telling you, he was giving up a lot of goals for Aston Villa last season. I know he’s a character and a personality, I’ll give him that. But I’m not sure. I don’t know about that. He loves parrying saves straight into the six-yard box."

Keane’s severe assessment stands in sharp contrast to the opinions of some of his former team-mates.

Praise from former colleagues and rivals

Nicky Butt even said the goalkeeper "could be the signing of the century" because of his World Cup experience and the modest £7.5m fee. Paul Scholes also backed that view, saying Aston Villa could easily have asked for a bigger amount for their star player.

Scholes further pointed out that although Martinez conceded three goals on his debut in last weekend’s 4-3 victory over Brighton, he is still likely to save Chelsea more points across the season than Sanchez, who has now left Stamford Bridge to join Como in Italy.

What next for Chelsea?

Martinez will get an immediate chance to answer his critics when Chelsea travel to face Premier League champions Arsenal this Sunday. Both sides have won their first two matches, so the goalkeeper is set for a major examination of his credentials. A strong display against Mikel Arteta’s team would help prove Keane wrong and support Wright’s glowing assessment.