Zion Suzuki embracing 'good challenge' of following Emi Martinez at Aston Villa

Zion Suzuki has set sights on emulating Emi Martinez’s achievements at Villa after becoming the club’s new No.1.

The Japan international accepts he faces a challenge following in the footsteps of Martinez, who over the past six years established himself as one of Villa’s greatest ever goalkeepers.

But it is one he is relishing as he seeks to make his mark on the Premier League, three years after turning down the chance to join Manchester United from boyhood club Urawa Red Diamonds.

Suzuki instead prioritised playing time and moved to Belgian club Sint-Truiden before spending two years in Serie A with Parma.

The 24-year-old signed for Villa last month for a fee of around £30million and made his debut in Monday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Arsenal.

Suzuki said: “The priority was to play games, that’s why I made the decision (not to join United).

“I played in Belgium for one year and Parma for two years. I made good steps and now I am here to play for this club.

“I am enjoying this moment. I want to help the team as much as possible.

“Of course there are so many expectations. It is not easy to play after him (Martinez) but I want to help the team and I want to be like him. It’s a good challenge for me.”

The two keepers spent a week-and-a-half training together at Bodymoor Heath as Villa team-mates before Martinez sealed a £7.5m move to Chelsea.

“He is a good person and I learned from him, even though it was a short time,” said Suzuki. “Now, I am looking forward to playing against him.”

Suzuki, who was heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain before joining Villa, is eager to get the season up and running with a first win at Hull on Saturday after Monday’s defeat made it back-to-back losses to open the campaign.

While the keeper did experience a couple of nervy moments, his ability with the ball at his feet in particular caught the eye.

In addition to keeping the ball out of the net, Suzuki believes his distribution can help cause problems at the other end of the pitch too.

“What he (Unai Emery) wants is really interesting. It is my style.

“On Monday, with the ball I tried to make some chances with my feet. It didn’t lead to a goal but I want to keep doing that.

“I have been developing. It was very important to play in Serie A for two years. Now I am confident and I believe in myself.

“After the last game, the manager said it is a process. We need to learn from defeats.

“On Monday we respected them but tried to win. We lost and need to learn from this game and move forward.”