Aston Villa: £103k-p/w target could be a Moreno upgrade
The Villans have been linked with a move for a former Premier League winner this summer.
The summer transfer window officially slams shut on Friday night and Aston Villa could make further additions to Unai Emery’s playing squad.
Who have Aston Villa signed this summer?
Plenty of ambition has been shown by the Villans to bolster their side for the 2023/24 campaign as they broke the club’s transfer record with a £51.9m swoop for Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.
Monchi and Emery also snapped up Spain international Pau Torres from Villarreal for a reported fee of £35m, whilst Youri Tielemans arrived on a free transfer from Leicester City and Nicolo Zaniolo has joined on loan from Galatasaray.
That may not be the end of their business this summer, though, as they were recently linked with a move for Barcelona left-back Marcos Alonso, who could come in to compete with Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno.
How good is Marcos Alonso?
The Spain international is a terrific ace who already has Premier League experience and he could come in as a big upgrade on Moreno for Emery before Friday’s deadline.
Alonso, who won the Champions League and the English top-flight with Chelsea, made 212 appearances during his time at Stamford Bridge and also enjoyed spells with Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland prior to his stint in London.
The 32-year-old made a name for himself as an attack-minded left-back with the Blues as he racked up 29 goals and 23 assists in all competitions, which meant that the talented dynamo averaged a direct goal contribution every 4.08 matches.
Moreno, meanwhile, has scored 21 goals and registered 31 assists in 372 club career games, which is an average of one goal involvement every 7.15 outings.
This suggests that the £103k-per-week ace would be an upgrade on the current Villa defender from an attacking perspective due to his ability to provide goals and assists from that position with greater regularity.
Alonso’s ability in possession also allows him to progress the play brilliantly. The former Chelsea star ranks within at least the top 7% of his positional peers in the Men’s Big Five League and European competitions over the last 365 days for progressive passes (5.59) and progressive carries (2.02) per 90.
Moreno, meanwhile, ranks within the bottom 17% for progressive passes (2.83) and the top 5% for progressive carries (3.85) per 90, which suggests that the Barcelona gem could provide more incision with his passing to break lines and progress the team up the pitch.
Alonso, who manager Xavi described as a “spectacular” signing, could also be a stronger presence at the back when it comes to competing in physical duels to win possession back or clear danger.
The veteran full-back won 68% of his battles and 72% of his aerial contests across 24 outings in LaLiga last season, whilst Moreno lost 59% of his duels and 57% of them in the air over his 19 Premier League matches, which suggests that he could improve the team when it comes to defending set-pieces and aerial bombardments.
These statistics suggest that the Barcelona left-back has the potential to be a big upgrade on the former Real Betis star due to his ability in possession, in build-up play and around the box, alongside his strength in defence.
