The £40 million deal Aston Villa are expected to pursue following a major Barcelona development.
Aston Villa may be about to narrow down their goalkeeper search following a major development involving Barcelona.
The Villans are on the hunt for a new shot-stopper or two as backup Robin Olsen has left for Malmo and World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez has been heavily linked with a transfer away. Villa must make at least one significant sale before June 30 to conform to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and Martinez is one of those likeliest to be sacrificed.
Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia has been on Villa’s shortlist for a while after enjoying a remarkable breakthrough season in La Liga. The 24-year-old made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the division with 145 and was third in the save percentages table with 74%, narrowly behind Jan Oblak (74.1%) and Unai Simon (77.4%).
Garcia is available for a bargain £20 million release clause this summer and Villa have been among the clubs keen on taking advantage, alongside the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayer Leverkusen.
Villa and the other teams mentioned will be disappointed, however, as Barcelona have made a breakthrough in negotiations and are now expected to sign Garcia. Barça have been in talks with the player over personal terms and are close to an agreement, so the release clause will then be activated to complete the deal.
It’s a great shame as Villa could have signed one of the world’s best up-and-coming goalkeepers. Garcia would have come in as the immediate first-choice and Martinez’s exit would have been sanctioned for a large profit, helping ease PSR concerns.
Not all is lost, though, as Villa now have a clear next target to consider and he too is one of the world’s most promising shot-stoppers. Birmingham World understands LOSC Lille’s Lucas Chevalier is an alternative target and initial talks are ongoing to scope the potential cost of a deal.
Unlike Garcia, this season just gone wasn’t Chevalier’s first in the big time as the 23-year-old, despite being younger, has been starting in Ligue 1 for three successive campaigns now. Since making his French top flight debut in 2022, Chevalier has conceded exactly one goal per game (127 in 127 matches) and kept 44 clean sheets.
Only Marcin Bulka, Djordje Petrovic and Yehvann Diouf can boast better save percentages in Ligue 1 in 2024/25 than Chevalier (72.7% ), while only Rennes’ Brice Samba kept more clean sheets in the division. Not a bad return for an inexperienced goalkeeper – and he’ll only get better as the years go on.
It awaits to be seen exactly how much Chevalier would set Villa back but a report from Caught Offside last week suggests £40 million could be enough. That’s of course double what would have been paid to sign Garcia, but Villa won’t want to let Chevalier slip through their fingertips – no pun intended.
The player himself would be keen on the move as he’s desperate to play in the Premier League to improve his chances of becoming France’s new number one goalkeeper, ahead of AC Milan’s Mike Maignan. Chevalier, who recently took home the Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Season award, is also good friends with Villa left-back Lucas Digne.
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