Aston Villa are poised to reach out for talks with a Premier League star who Barcelona view as a 'low cost' potential signing this summer.
Aston Villa slump to Chelsea hammering as Emery prepares for Lille
Not so long ago, Unai Emery was dreaming out loud.
At one point, they were on level on points with Man City, four points behind Arsenal, and talking about the Premier League title with something that looked a lot like genuine belief.
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That feels like a very different club to the one that trudged off Villa Park on Wednesday night after being dismantled 4-1 by Chelsea in what had been billed as a crucial top-four showdown.
February was brutal for Villa. One win from five league matches, a collapse from second place to fourth, and now both Liverpool and Chelsea breathing down their necks with nine games to go.
The injury problems have been well-documented, but frailties that have been exposed in this run go deeper than personnel — Villa have looked uncertain, disorganised and increasingly vulnerable to exactly the kind of fluid, direct football Chelsea served up so convincingly.
Villa had been one of the stories of the season, riding the Europa League and pushing the very top of the Premier League simultaneously.
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Unai Emery's staff and players won't be impressed.
Now, Emery faces a crucial fortnight.
Thursday brings the first leg of the Europa League last-16 tie against Lille in northern France, with the return at Villa Park a week later.
Sandwiched around those European commitments is a league season that is slipping away game by game, but there is still time to turn it around.
Villa finished second in the Europa League group phase and know the competition represents their most realistic route to a trophy this season.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery during the match-2
They have the quality to progress, but Emery will be acutely aware that more defensive wobbles of the kind that cost them so dearly against Chelsea could prove fatal at this level.
In the background, NSWE are planning for next season and the summer window, with Bournemouth's 'valuable' defender, Marcos Senesi, available at zero cost.
Aston Villa to hold talks with Bournemouth star Marcos Senesi
According to Marca, via one of their correspondents on X, the situation surrounding the Cherries star is now entering its 'decisive phase'.
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Senesi's contract expires at the end of the season and the 28-year-old has already made clear to Bournemouth that he will not be renewing, effectively making him available for nothing in the summer.
According to this piece of information, fresh contact is expected between Senesi's camp and a number of interested clubs — with Aston Villa among them, alongside Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham.
Barcelona are also monitoring the situation, viewing the Argentine as a shrewd 'low-cost' option.
Senesi has been one of the more underappreciated centre-backs in the Premier League over the past three seasons — composed on the ball, comfortable building from the back, and consistent enough to have drawn attention from clubs well above Bournemouth's station.
AFC Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi in action with Wolverhampton Wanderers' Yerson Mosquera
The prospect of landing a player of that calibre without a transfer fee attached is precisely the kind of business that could help shore up the defensive issues that have contributed to Villa's recent slump.
However, the competition for his signature is rife, with Sunderland and Newcastle also believed to be eyeing up the Argentine.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery during the match -3 Related
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