Chelsea sign Martinez in £7.5m deal from Villa

NEW: Chelsea sign Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez from Aston Villa in a £7.5m deal on a three-year contract.

Emi Martinez is a Chelsea player. Seven and a half million pounds, done.

The Argentina goalkeeper leaves Aston Villa on a three-year contract, and honestly, that fee reads like a typo. This is the man in question, the World Cup winner who spent years making Villa Park a miserable place to take a penalty. He turns 34 next month, sure, but goalkeepers age like judges, and world class ones at seven and a half million don't come around often.

He's been agitating for a bigger stage for a while, and here he is, fist raised, captain's armband on, exactly the personality Chelsea's dressing room hasn't had between the posts in years. Stamford Bridge is getting a showman, and their next penalty shootout just got a lot more interesting.

Villa fans loved him. Villa's accountants clearly loved the cheque more. Chelsea just bought a World Cup winner for less than most clubs pay for a backup.

This is Angel Manalo, reporting for HIT.