Enzo Barrenechea (back) is on loan to Valencia from Aston Villa
Enzo Barrenechea (back) is on loan to Valencia from Aston Villa
Aston Villa decided to send out midfielder Enzo Barrenechea on loan towards the end of the summer transfer window last year - almost as quickly as the player arrived from Serie A side Juventus.
Barrenechea moved, with Samuel Iling-Junior, as a part of the deal with Juve which saw Douglas Luiz move to Turin, but neither player made Unai Emery's 20-man squad in the opening weeks of the season and both were permitted loans in order to play regularly.
Iling-Junior returned to Italy with Bologna - although he is now to spend the remainder of the campaign with Middlesbrough in the Championship - but Barrenechea made the move to Spain and joined Valencia who, while recognised as one of the most decorated Spanish clubs, were in for a season of struggle.
Very much entrenched in a relegation battle until Christmas, Barrenechea was at least playing week in, week out, performing well enough to earn international recognition from his native Argentina, too.
Barrenechea played under former boss Ruben Baraja and now, after his departure and the appointment of Carlos Corberan, the midfielder is helping Valencia to climb their way out of the mire - under Corberan, who left West Brom to return to his boyhood club on Christmas Eve, they have won five of 12 games and have only lost to Spain's 'big three'.
On Sunday, at Mestalla, Valencia edged out Real Mallorca to pull themselves further clear of the La Liga relegation zone. Barrenechea, the local press reported, was 'was close to perfection', playing a 'great game in terms of control, cutting and driving'. They scored him 9/10 in their player ratings.
Barrenechea, who signed a five-year contract with Villa when he joined in the summer, is wanted by Valencia to remain with them next term - whether that's permanently or on another loan basis, although it remains to be seen what role the Argentine has to play under Emery at Villa.
Indeed reports suggest that Valencia are set to pursue permanent deals this summer for Barrenechea and fellow loanee Umar Sadiq, who was borrowed from Real Sociedad - and that owner Peter Lim could fork out as much as £20m in order to complete both deals, provided Valencia remain in the top flight as expected.
That'd leave Villa with a decision to make, if Barrenechea - who would appear happy in Spain and would reportedly like to remain at Mestalla beyond the end of his loan agreement - becomes the subject of a second offer from Valencia once this term concludes.
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Aston Villa 150th Anniversary
Get your hands on AVFC 150 years merchandise
Aston Villa is marking its 150th anniversary with the launch of a new merch collection including shirts, hoodies, books, mugs and scarves.
Top items include the Anniversary Shirt, Anniversary Hoodie and Anniversary Polo Shirt, plus the 150 Years picture books Volume One and Volume Two.