Unai Emery’s Aston Villa target set to complete transfer before deadline
Aston Villa transfer news as previous midfield target Matteo Guendouzi, well known to Unai Emery, nears a move elsewhere
Matteo Guendouzi, Unai Emery’s one-time Aston Villa target, is finally set to complete a move away from Marseille this summer – and he is expected to move to Italy and join Serie A side Lazio.
It’s understood that Villa and Emery – who brought the player to England and worked with him at Arsenal previously – was eager to strengthen his midfield department in the January transfer window and Villa, as a consequence, looked into bringing Guendouzi back to the Premier League from his native France.
Having spent the 2021-22 season on loan at OM, he returned there on a permanent basis last summer when Arsenal sanctioned a £9m deal, and French international Guendouzi continued to impress in Ligue 1, so much so that he might’ve returned to the top flight and reunited with Emery, but that move proved too expensive to do.
Villa reignited their interest in Guendouzi this summer, but they instead eventually moved for Youri Tielemans, who they were able to snap up on a free transfer following his departure from relegated Leicester City. He has boosted the midfield competition, which already included Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Leander Dendoncker.
Now, it’s been confirmed that OM are in talks over the sale of Guendouzi to Lazio, in a deal which could be worth €18m. Guendouzi has two years left on his current contract at Marseille.
“I can confirm that there is an offer on the table,” OM president Pablo Longoria said. “It’s true that
we received an offer and that the positions of the two clubs have come very close in recent days, but the deal is not finalised, there are still many details to settle and many situations of potential disagreement.
