Aston Villa are hoping to strengthen their team before deadline day.placeholder image
Aston Villa are hoping to strengthen their team before deadline day. | Getty Images
The 38-time international is thought to be surplus to requirements at his existing club
Aston Villa have endured one of their most challenging transfer windows since returning to the Premier League in 2019. The Villa Park club qualified for Europe by finishing sixth in the Premier League last term, reached the quarter-final of the Champions League in the first year back in the competition since 1983, and also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup.
It marked a successful year and one of their most memorable in recent years, yet remarkably despite the high-profile sale of Jhon Duran in January, the club have had to navigate the challenges of trying to avoid breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules with players often needing to be sold to fund incomings as we saw with Jacob Ramsey’s switch to Newcastle and the subsequent arrival of Evann Guessand from Nice.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom as the club face the prospect of another European adventure, this time in the Europa League with games against Fenerbahçe, Feyenoord, FC Basel and Bologna among others on the horizon, plus the added boost of so far retaining the likes of Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins. Villa have had a little to spend on recruitment this summer, but there is still thought to be room for one more glamour signing before the end of the summer and it’s a name Unai Emery is more than familiar with.
Aston Villa push to sign Marco Asensio
Why Marco Asensio would be the perfect Aston Villa signing
Marco Asensio gave everyone a huge lift when he arrived at Aston Villa alongside Marcus Rashford in January. The PSG man instantly looked at home in the Premier League and was a catalyst for the club’s upturn in fortunes. At the start of February, Villa were ninth with 38 points from 25 matches, seven behind fifth placed Bournemouth, and looked destined to miss out on any form of Europe. By the final day, Villa finished with 66 points, picking up 28 points from their final 13 matches, finishing sixth and only missing out on the Champions League on goal difference.
Asensio looked excellent in the central role and helped get the best out of those around him, including Morgan Rogers, who ultimately won the Young Player of the Season while playing out on the wing.
The Spaniard is reportedly valued at just £13m and while his age may not be ideal from a PSR perspective in terms of sell-on value, it’s a transfer that could ignite the club’s season due to the quality Asensio possesses on the ball and his creative flair which could be crucial after a lacklustre opening two games of the season.
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