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Unai Emery has a huge transfer decision to make for Enzo Barrenechea.
Aston Villa are reportedly considering letting Enzo Barrenechea sign for Valencia permanently to boost their summer transfer budget.
The Villans acquired Barrenechea’s services for around £7 million last summer as part of the mega swap deal that saw Douglas Luiz leave for Juventus and promising winger Samuel Iling-Junior arrive through the doors at Villa Park.
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Unai Emery made little hesitation to let Iling-Junior leave on loan to Bologna - later recalling him in January and sending him to Middlesbrough - but the head coach was more reluctant in allowing Barrenechea to depart. Emery was eager to make use of the defensive midfielder, at first rejecting a loan approach from Valencia, but later changed his mind in the best interests of Barrenechea’s development.
That turned out to be an excellent decision as the 23-year-old has progressed superbly in La Liga this season. A shining light in what has been a tough campaign with Valencia in a surprise relegation battle, Barrenechea has played 23 times, predominantly as the deepest-lying midfielder in a double pivot alongside Javi Guerra.
New manager Carlos Corberan has particularly enjoyed working with Barrenechea as he’s slotted perfectly into a 4-2-3-1 formation, adapting rapidly from the 3-4-2-1 shape he played in under previous boss Ruben Baraja. The midfielder displays great composure in possession to link up the play between defence and attack, while he’s aggressive enough to win his fair share of duels.
Since December 18, Barrenechea has started 12 matches and maintained an average FotMob rating of 7.43. Across the season as a whole, the former Juve man has completed 760 passes, ranking him in the top 18 per cent in La Liga. Barrenechea has also 102 ground duels and 28 aerial duels, placing him in the top nine per cent for both metrics.
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Enzo Barrenechea at Aston Villa crossroads
Given that Barrenechea has been in such immense shape this season and has progressed closer to his potential, you’d think Emery would be keen to make use of him. That’s definitely a consideration but it’s going to be difficult to displace the likes of Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Amadou Onana in the centre of the park.
A huge decision awaits this summer for Barrenechea, who earned his first Argentina call-up in November. The Athletic reports Villa are preparing for talks at the end of the season, with Emery expected to try to convince Barrenechea to stay as a squad player at first before eventually breaking through as a more regular starter.
Depending on how those conversations go, Villa will decide whether or not it’s best to cash in on Barrenechea for a profit. Valencia are keen to sign the midfielder permanently, after all, and could make a mega offer Villa simply cannot refuse.
There’s also the recurring issue of remaining in line with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Luiz’s sale last summer was granted reluctantly to comply with PSR, for instance. No final decision has been made just yet, but Barrenechea could be the next player sacrificed.
In other news, two of Villa’s worst injury fears could be confirmed from photos in Dubai.