Aston Villa are now reportedly closing in on a move to sign a new attacking midfielder for Unai Emery as they look to beat several suitors to his signature in 2025.
Aston Villa looking to end slump
Aston Villa's draw with Juventus could have been all three points if were it not for a late goal from Morgan Rogers being controversially disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
Though the point in itself was credible, it continued their winless run, which now stretches to seven games and has seen them lose four times in the last month alone and crash out of the Carabao Cup in the process.
It is yet to have a major impact on their season otherwise, with Emery's side still only three points outside the top four in the Premier League and well-placed to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, but should it continue, it is bound to have serious repercussions further down the line.
Aston Villa's next five Premier League games
Chelsea (Away)
Brentford (Home)
Southampton (Home)
Nottingham Forest (Away)
Manchester City (Home)
With tough fixtures on the horizon, they need to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later, and could use the January transfer window to try and do so, with the club expected to be active mid-season to strengthen Emery's squad.
Now, they have been tipped to complete a move to sign a new attacking midfielder.
Aston Villa "closing in" on Schmid deal
According to Football Insider, Aston Villa and Unai Emery are "closing in on a move for Werder Bremen’s Romano Schmid" ahead of the January transfer window.
Schmid is one of the hottest prospects in the Bundesliga, with CIES reporting that the Austrian has managed to create more chances this season than fellow Villa target Alex Baena and Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal, according to its chance creation index, which takes into account key passes, pre-assists and breaking opposition lines.
"is calculated on a scale of 100 by adding the frequency of passes leading to a goal or a clear chance, passes made to the assistman (second assist), as well as passes breaking the opposition's defensive line received by a teammate".
Villa's interest in the Bremen midfielder was revealed last week, and now they could be on the verge of agreeing a move. However, it is unclear as to when the deal would be completed.
romano-schmid-werder-bremen
It is claimed that Villa are "set to showcase ambition in the January transfer window as Unai Emery wants to bolster his squad", but that the Werder Sporting Director "suggested that while a deal is unlikely in January it could be an option in the summer transfer window".
A previous report by Sky claimed that a move away from Germany could happen "by the summer at the latest", while his £8m valuation is not thought to have put off any potential suitors for the 24-year-old.
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The Aston Villa midfielder should be cashed in on at the next possible opportunity.
That comes with Schmid having just 18 months left to run on his £5,700-a-week deal in the Bundesliga, which is likely to see his price tag only fall in the months to come. Former Werder Bremen boss Florian Kohfeldt labelled him as "very ambitious" during his time at the club.
Aston Villa have a previous history of snapping up bargains in the January transfer window having landed Morgan Rogers for just £8m in 2023. Could they be about to do the same with another attacking midfielder?