Emiliano Martinez Takes John Terry's No.26 at Chelsea

Emiliano Martinez has walked through the doors at Cobham and straight into one of the heaviest shirts at Chelsea. The club confirmed the Argentine will wear No.26, a number that in west London still belongs, in many minds, to John Terry.

Terry built a legacy in that shirt – captain, leader, serial winner – and since his departure in 2017, Chelsea have treated 26 almost like a relic. Only Kalidou Koulibaly and Levi Colwill have briefly taken it on, and even then it never truly felt occupied.

Martinez knows exactly what he is stepping into.

He has worn 26 on loan spells before, but this is different. This is Stamford Bridge. This is Terry’s number. So before he committed to it, the goalkeeper went back to a familiar voice. The two worked together at Aston Villa, where Terry was part of the coaching staff and saw close-up the intensity and work ethic that turned Martinez into a top-level Premier League keeper.

"John was someone I spoke to before I joined, and he said he was over the moon to have me here," Martinez explained. "From our time together at Aston Villa, he knows how hard I work and what I can bring to Chelsea. The morning I signed, I texted him and said, 'I'm wearing your shirt, and I'm going to do it with pride'."

For Martinez, the number is not a gimmick. It is a statement. At a club searching for on-pitch leaders, he is openly aligning himself with the standards Terry set in that dressing room for over a decade.

The move itself came with the same kind of sudden jolt as a late transfer window twist. Chelsea had signalled for much of the summer that they were content with their goalkeeping department. Then the doubts crept in. Performances dipped, questions grew louder, and the hierarchy acted.

The Blues struck a £7.5 million deal with Aston Villa for the Argentina international, a fee that looks modest for a World Cup winner with almost two decades of English football behind him. For Martinez, the destination made the whirlwind worthwhile.

"It’s incredible," he said in his first interview as a Chelsea player. "It’s been an amazing few days. Obviously, it happened really quickly, but I'm delighted to be at this football club. I’ve been in England for nearly 17 years and to play for Chelsea is a dream for me."

There was no gentle bedding-in period. No quiet cup tie to ease into. Instead, Martinez was thrown straight into a wild 4-3 win over Brighton, a game that swung from control to chaos and back again. He conceded three, but the scoreline only tells part of the story.

When Chelsea wobbled, Martinez’s interventions mattered. He produced key saves that preserved the lead and allowed his new team to ride out the storm. It was a first glimpse of the presence and personality that persuaded the club to move so quickly for him.

Robert Sanchez still has the No.1 on his back, and that detail underlines the battle to come. Chelsea now have two senior goalkeepers with strong claims to start, and the competition is no longer theoretical.

Martinez has already taken Terry’s number. The next question is whether he can take control of Chelsea’s goal in the same emphatic fashion.