Aston Villa are interested in Real Madrid winger Arda Guler, TEAMtalk understands, but it is unlikely that Liverpool will try to sign the Turkey international.
Guler is one of the best young attacking players in Europe. Now 20, the winger made his debut for Fenerbahce when he was just 16 and went on to score nine goals and give 12 assists in 51 appearances for the Turkish Super Lig giants before earning a move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2023.
Much was expected of Guler when he moved to Madrid, but the winger had injury problems in his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu and was able to make only 13 appearances for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who won LaLiga and the Champions League.
A fierce competition for places has restricted Guler to just seven LaLiga starts and one Champions League start for Los Blancos this season, with 20-year-old making a total of 32 appearances for the Spanish giants.
TEAMtalk understands that Villa have long-standing interest in Guler and could consider signing him from Madrid in the summer transfer window.
However, nothing is advanced yet, and there is no guarantee that the winger – who was described as a player with “great personality and exceptional quality” by former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho on beIN SPORTS in September 2024 – will be available on the market this summer.
While Madrid are happy for the winger to stay, Guler himself will have to decide on his future as he is not a regular in Ancelotti’s starting line-up.
TEAMtalk can reveal that Villa’s President of Football Operations, Monchi, is a big admirer of Guler, who broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record at Euro 2024 last summer when he became the youngest player to score on their Euros debut as he found the back of the net against Georgia with a brilliant strike from distance.
Guler was just 19 years and 114 days old at the time, breaking Portuguese star Ronaldo’s record of scoring at 19 years and 128 days at Euro 2004.
Although Monchi particularly likes Guler, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, Villa do have a lot of options in attack.
Villa could make Marcus Rashford’s loan deal permanent and wish to sign Marco Asensio permanently. There is no option to buy the latter, but PSG are willing to engage. Villa also have Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen vying for a place in various attacking positions.
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Liverpool unlikely to go for Arda Guler – sources
There has been speculation that Liverpool could try to sign Guler from Madrid in the summer transfer window.
However, TEAMtalk understands that if Liverpool do decide to add a wide player this summer, then they would go for somebody who is slightly more established than Guler.
The Turkish star has made a total of 45 appearances for Madrid since his move in 2023, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists in the process, but is still young and may need time to adapt to the Premier League should he receive an offer to move to England this summer.