Aston Villa transfer news from BirminghamLive as reports from Italy link Unai Emery with renewed interest in French international
Matteo Guendouzi
Matteo Guendouzi(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
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Aston Villa have been linked with renewed interest in Lazio midfielder Matteo Guendouzi ahead of the January transfer window.
The former Arsenal playmaker Guendouzi worked with Unai Emery previously at The Emirates and he has long been tipped to summon him back to England and the Premier League while boss of Villa.
He left in 2021 to join Marseille and while back in France he was strongly linked with Villa, following Emery’s appointment. Premier League new-comers Sunderland have also been named as an interested club, according to reports in the Italian press which claims the 26-year-old has gone from “midfield leader to struggling figure” in recent weeks, with the Frenchman’s performances “drawing concern” inside Lazio.
Football Italia say that after a bright start to the campaign, his form has dipped sharply since returning from suspension for his red card in the Rome derby, claiming Guendouzi has often been the “weak link” in a makeshift midfield.
And, according to Il Messaggero, via LLSN, Guendouzi has won just half of his ground duels and only a third of his aerial battles, while making just five interceptions and being dribbled past six times.
The decline has been enough to “put his place, and his future, under scrutiny,” claims the report, which says “Maurizio Sarri continues to hope for a response, but the midfielder is no longer seen as untouchable.”
It concludes that interest from Villa and Sunderland “resurfaced” recently, and Lazio would consider selling for an offer in the €25–30 million range, provided a reliable replacement is secured first.
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