Aston Villa: Emery could sign his new Saka with Deadline Day move
The Aston Villa boss could land his next superstar prodigy with last minute move.
Aston Villa are looking to sign more players despite the impending arrival of Lenglet.
A player with Saka-like qualities could arrive through the door at Villa Park.
A bargain £17m move may well be on the table for Unai Emery.
Aston Villa are still extremely active in the last week of the transfer window as they look to bolster their squad ahead of their Europa Conference League campaign, and now a fresh update has emerged on a potential target.
Will Aston Villa sign anyone on transfer deadline day?
According to Spanish news outlet SPORT, Aston Villa are one of the clubs who are keen on signing Barcelona forward Abde Ezzalzouli, better known as Ez Abde, before the window closes.
As per the report, the La Liga giants are open to offers for their youth prospect to bolster their transfer funds and free up their wage bill, and would command a fee of around €20m (£17m) to part ways with Ezzalzouli.
The Villains will compete with Bayer Leverkusen for his signature, however, both clubs are not keen on paying the price tag that Barcelona are demanding at present.
Who is Abde Ezzalzouli?
The Morocco U23 star has been going from strength to strength in his development since joining Barcelona in the summer of 2021, and could now become Unai Emery’s next prodigy.
Due to the huge competition for a starting spot in Xavi Hernandez’s forward line at Camp Nou, Ezzalzouli spent last season on loan in the Spanish top-flight with Osasuna, where he further displayed his talents with regular first-team football.
Over 28 La Liga appearances, the 21-year-old scored four goals, registered two assists and successfully completed 58% of his dribbles, as well as averaging 1.4 shots on goal and winning 4.5 duels per game, offering a glimpse of the attacking threat he can impose on the left flank, as per SofaScore.
Not only that, Ezzalzouli ranked in the top 10% of his positional peers in La Liga for progressive carries and successful take-ons, proving that he was one of the most lively players in the division.
The Moroccan talent has been the recipient of high praise over his short career so far, with Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate waxing lyrical about Ezzalzouli during his time at the club last season:
“He is a special player. For us it is a luxury to have him on loan, because we cannot have these footballers in any other way.”
“We cannot limit that talent or tell him “you have to do this, this and that”, no, because he has so much talent and such a repertoire that our job is to create the best ecosystem for him so that he receives in areas with little traffic and can play 1v1.”
Emery could well use his keen eye for youthful talent to land his next Bukayo Saka by bringing the Barcelona youngster to Villa Park this summer.
Indeed, the former Arsenal boss gave the England superstar his debut in the Premier League which has led to the winger becoming a household name and one of the highest-rated forwards in Europe.
Like the Barca gem, Saka is blessed with innate abilities in 1 v 1 scenarios, ranking within the best 8% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries with 5.29 per 90 minutes, as per FBref.
Ezzalzouli could now follow in Saka’s footsteps under the guidance of the Villa boss by polishing his skills, developing his talents and earning first-team football on the elite stage of the English top-flight.
With that being said, the signing of Ezzalzouli could be a great piece of business for Aston Villa as they work to build their squad for the future and aim to compete in and for European football over this season and beyond. Should they unearth a talent anywhere near as capable as Saka, Emery will have truly struck gold.
