Well, I suppose either simply because they're better than Andre Onana.
But before we begin on these potential new goalkeepers, on the current one, I don't think he's as bad as he's made out to be. I do believe people go over the top a bit and make it appear as if he's the worst GK in history.
With that being said, he isn't great either becuase of well, reasons. This is why we are in this position of looking for a new goalie in the first place. He is also not Ruben Amorim's signing yet before he came to United, Onana was one of the best modern goalkeepers in the game who ticked every box including being able to play in a 3-at-the-back formation, something Inter Milan used whilst he was there.
Due to his regular massive cock ups and overall unreliability though, it seems the United manager (and fans) have had enough of a goalkeeper that we all thought would truly revolutionize how we play, particularly in build-up from defense.
On top of this poor distribution, Onana hasn't been able to satisfy the demands of what's needed to be a regular GK let alone a modern one. He lacks command in the box, isn't the best at saving as he palms the ball into dangerous areas after making a good save, slows things down when we want to speed things up, and is untrustworthy. The guy would be unbelievable in goal only to go and mess up on a simple cross allowing the opposition to score.
Even with penalties, he isn't the strongest. Backup Altay Bayindir proved to be quite strong in this department and was even called for to be the no 1 instead of Onana after his heroics against Arsenal. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury at the wrong time meaning that we never saw this takeover come to pass, if Amorim was going to do so.
Bayindir is also one of those believed to be on the chopping block anyway so he can't take over from Onana.
The reports
The news on both Costa and Martinez has been talked about a lot recently. We know that according to several outlets (ESPN, The Mirror, Metro) Martinez was said to want a move to United as it is his "dream" to come to Old Trafford. His camp has also been in regular contact with United which further raised suspicions that perhaps this news is true.
Martinez seems set to depart Villa Park based on a number of reasons such as PSR rules, ambition to play at the highest level (not sure why he wants to come to United then) and inconsistent form.
Knowing that United want a new goalkeeper and regardless of the situation we're in, we are still Man Utd, this could've grabbed Martinez's attention resulting in this desperation to join Ruben's Reds.
Amorim had also spoken about Martinez's leadership skills as well as trying to sign him back in 2020 whilst he was Sporting manager.
Fans like myself, also see Martinez as a bit of a character who can provide an aura and perhaps even a little intimidation at the back, something we don't have with Onana. The 2022 World Cup-winning goalie is also a master at shithousery as he can get into player's heads quite easily. That is something we like to see.
As for Costa's links, this has taken shape in the last week. It's reported that Amorim is behind this player as he has seen Costa as his ideal replacement for Onana. There's also been internal discussions about the Portuguese goalkeeper taking over that number 1 spot.
The Porto GK has also expressed a desire for a new challenge as he looks for a way out of Portugal and "dreams" of a move to the Premier League as he wants to prove himself in a top European league.
We do know that this will be a tough deal if it were to happen because to bring either 'keeper in, we would need to sell Onana who wants to stay at the club.
The comparison
So out of Costa and Martinez, who would actually be better suited to Ruben Amorim and his United?
Firstly, Costa is 7 years younger than Martinez who while is seen as an upgrade to Onana and a goalkeeper that most would be happy with, isn't a long-term fit which would give the Portuguese an advantage already.
On the other hand, Martinez has played in the Premier League and to have that PL experience is always seen as a positive. Without that experience, Costa may take some time to get used to things, time that we may not have. Martinez in general is more experienced and has of course, lifted the World Cup as one of Argentina's standout players in that tournament.
That counts for something.
The 25 year old Portuguese is a modern goalkeeper as some of his strengths include sweeper-keeping, distribution (he had an 83.1% pass completion rate in 23/24 vs Onana's 72.6%), is a top penalty saver and displays maturity and organization skills, skills fit for a leader.
However, much like Onana, Costa is prone to the odd cock up and will cost around €75m as per his release clause, which can be seen as potential negatives.
How he would fit in for Amorim?
As the United boss likes to play a high line, Costa's sweeper-keeping abilities can come into play here. Being able to clean up any balls over the top or through the lines is essential in today's football. We all thought Onana would be good at this and an improvement to David de Gea's poor sweeper-keeping abilities yet we've been proven wrong as he hardly every comes off his line let alone box.
Amorim would also like to build up from the back and needs a GK who is good in possession. Costa will certainly bring this as both short and long distance, he is top notch. In that 23/24 campaign, he completed 55.7% of his long passes whereas Onana sat on 36.6%. And we know how often Onana likes to go long which ends up giving possession away to everyone's frustration.
This could be a tactic of the manager's and if so, we need someone who is more accurate which Costa is as per these numbers.
Last season, the Portuguese had an average save percentage of 67.1% compared to Onana's 63.8% although Onana faced more shots in the Premier League (141) versus Costa's (82) in the Portuguese league. We also know that the PL is harder than most leagues and certainly harder than in Portugal which makes it more difficult to truly compare the two.
Porto are also one of the best teams in their league whereas United are one of the worst in the PL. That makes a difference too.
On top of this, the manager does prefer his fellow Portuguese, he is a potential long-term 'keeper and a lot of the fans do like him. This isn't the first time United have been in for him either as when we were looking to move de Gea on, Costa was one of the names mentioned and had a massive backing even then.
As for Martinez, his age of 32 isn't the oldest for a goalie but nor is it the youngest. Considering we want to have this long-term project with Amorim, a goalkeeper of his age isn't ideal.
But then again, he brings that PL experience, shithousery and overall aura, things that we lack in our side. United can often appear too nice and easy for the opposition to take advantage of. We don't have enough of these arseholes.
I also feel like Martinez is just more commanding than most goalkeepers given his reputation.
He has this knack of performing in tough situations and is arguably the best at saving penalties in the game.
Martinez isn't known as this modern goalkeeper although he does (sort of) tick the boxes required such as good distribution, decent sweeper-keeping abilities and is strong in the face of adversity.
Another advantage is his price which is around £25-£40m which is far cheaper than Costa's £64m tag. However, while that sounds good, some would say that he is much cheaper because he isn't as good as Costa or some of the modern goalies around and that he is much older.
Dibu Martinez could bring stability to our back line and team overall due to his ability to calm things down. On the other hand, as he isn't amazing at distribution, this could be a problem for how we want to actually play and build-up from defense.
But he can be an immediate impact as he has that PL experience which we know can make a difference. An example of the past is Edwin van der Sar who was signed from Fulham when the Dutchman was 34 years old. He slotted in straight away and was important in the success we had during his 6 years at the club.
We know how long it took to replace Peter Schmeichel as we had a number of goalkeepers all of whom failed before van der Sar joined.
Here's a table comparing the two and their suitability to United:
Final Thoughts
Diogo Costa is better suited. He ticks more of the boxes that we need and are looking for for the long-term.
Martinez can provide a more immediate impact and from that van der Sar example, can see just how impactful the right GK can be, even one of the age of Martinez.
I personally feel more confident with Martinez than I do with Costa due to the Argentine's aura and cockiness. To be a United player and certainly goalkeeper, you do need to have some sort of edge to you which I'm not sure Costa has at least not to the extent of Martinez.
We also lack this nastiness in our team as well as have this uncanny ability to drop our heads too easily and too quick. Martinez doesn't come off as this type of character which could make a difference too.
However, considering what we need and where we're going for the future, Costa is the goalkeeper I would pick to join out of the two.
He fills all that we require and even if he lacks that PL experience and isn't a shithouse, how he plays the game as this modern goalkeeper will no doubt be of more benefit to what Ruben Amorim wants for his side.
Diogo Costa is the man for me.
Diogo Costa is Ruben Amorim's preferred goalkeeper choice should Andre Onana leave Man Utd | Diogo Costa: Image credit: Getty Images via Goal
Emiliano Martinez "dreams" of moving to Man Utd | Emiliano Martinez: Image credit: Getty Images via Goal