Aston Villa submit £45.8m offer to sign “animal” World Cup winner after agreeing deal with the veteran
Aston Villa and NSWE have submitted a bid to sign a long-term target for Unai Emery this summer.
Aston Villa transfer rumours
The Villans can now prepare to host Champions League football next season following a terrific first full Premier League campaign under Emery which resulted in a top-four finish.
Monchi and co appear to be laying the groundwork for a busy summer transfer window to bolster Emery’s squad, with Ross Barkley on course to become the first arrival and plenty of links to other signings, namely Mario Hermoso of Atletico Madrid.
Reports have suggested that Aston Villa are in advanced talks with Barkley, who has impressed with Luton Town over the past 10 months. The former loanee could sign a permanent deal in the Midlands in a cut-price transfer. After Barkley, Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo and Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot appear to be two high-profile targets with Champions League experience.
Monchi and Emery love Araujo and have held initial talks with Barcelona, whereas Rabiot, like Hermoso, could soon be available on a free transfer but has worked under Emery at Paris Saint-Germain.
Aston Villa submit €15m Marcos Acuna bid
One player who has been heavily linked with a move to Villa Park in the last 12 months is Sevilla left-back Marcos Acuna. In fact, it was claimed in August 2023 that the Argentine was on his way to the Midlands to sign a Villa deal, but as we know, a transfer eventually fell through.
The interest from Villa has remained, though, continuing during the January transfer window and now again ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Reports from Spain have now revealed that Acuna to Villa is ‘emerging as one of the most notable movements on the market’, with the player ‘about to join’ Villa. It is claimed that Aston Villa have made a €15m (£12.8m) to sign Acuna, with Sevilla sporting director Victor Orta already on the hunt for a replacement.
Emery and Villa appear to be closing in on their man, with Acuna capable of playing further forward as a left midfielder or left winger during his career. Striker Lucas Alario hailed Acuna back in 2019, calling him an “animal” who has a “very good delivery”.
“Acuna is an animal. The routes he took… He was uncatchable. He runs all the time, he has a very good delivery and as a centre-forward, you have to take advantage of those qualities.”
Acuna’s assist record for a left-back makes for good reading, as can be seen below, with the 32-year-old also helping Argentina win the World Cup in 2022.
He is a full-back who has 21 games under his belt in the Champions League, and by the looks of things, he could rival Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno during the 2024/25 campaign, with a move this time around seemingly looking likely.
