The 24-year-old joined Villa from Juventus last summer, but despite impressing in pre-season, Unai Emery opted to send him out on loan to Valencia for the season.
_**READ MORE: [Key stumbling block touted with no active talks over exit for Villa ace](https://talk-villa.com/aston-villa-transfer-news-emiliano-martinez-no-active-exit-talks-man-utd/)**_
Barrenechea made 33 appearances for the La Liga side and impressed, and there are arguably clear indications that he would be an excellent fit for Emery’s system and style of play with his composure and technical ability in possession coupled with his positioning and tactical awareness defensively.
However, with Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley for competition in our double pivot, it’s not easy to see how he would play a key role for us with the options we already have ahead of him in the pecking order.
That in turn has led to plenty of speculation over his future this summer, and according to [Argentine journalist Cesar Luis Merlo](https://x.com/CLMerlo/status/1944230235840348542), Benfica are moving forward with their push to sign Barrenechea, and it’s suggested that they are looking at a permanent transfer rather than a loan. Porto are also said to be interested, but they are currently behind their rivals in the race.
Time will tell if a deal is agreed for the midfield talent to move on, but it would certainly be a shame if that proves to be the outcome as he looks to have a bright future ahead of him if he continues to develop and improve.
As noted above, Villa have established senior players in midfield already and so a sale for Barrenechea arguably makes most sense for both sides, but having not had a real shot at breaking into the team, it would be disappointing to see him depart without having had that opportunity.
Nevertheless, Villa have to be smart in the transfer window this summer and trim the squad where possible to create space for new signings, and if that means moving the fringe players on and keeping our core together for another year, then so be it, and it hopefully proves to be a sensible strategy that ensures we continue to be competitive across multiple fronts next season and beyond.
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