Aston Villa’s President of Football Operations, Monchi, was spotted on a possible scouting mission on Friday night for touted transfer target Oscar Mingueza.
The 25-year-old is a product of the Barcelona youth Academy before he joined Celta Vigo in 2022, and has since gone on to make 82 appearances for the club while he has two caps for Spain at senior level.
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With the versatility to play as a centre-half as well as on the opposite side, he is naturally a right-back, and that has been a problematic area of the Villa squad with our lack of experienced competition and depth behind Matty Cash.
The likes of Kosta Nedeljkovic and Lamare Bogarde continue to push for bigger roles, but as they continue to adapt and learn under Unai Emery, it seems as though a more proven option could be brought in this month.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Villa are said to have started talks with Celta over a move for Mingueza, while Mundo Deportivo reported on Friday that we were willing to pay his €20m release clause.
Now, as seen in Romano’s tweet below, Monchi was at Celta’s clash with Rayo Vallecano on Friday night, and the natural link has been made in that he was there to take a closer look at Mingueza with the suggestion that ‘deal on’ means he could have held further talks during his trip over a transfer.
It’s also worth noting that Villa have been paired with an interest in Rayo Vallecano full-back Andrei Ratiu, and so he may well have been on Monchi’s radar as well during the game, but time will tell if his scouting mission leads to a breakthrough in our pursuit of a reinforcement at right-back.
Should a move for a new signing materialise, the expectation is that Nedeljkovic at least will move out on loan for the remainder of the season, and while that is the most sensible option in the short-term future so that he gains experience and develops, it’s hoped that signing another right-back option doesn’t ultimately close off his potential to have a future with us given the promise he’s shown to date.
As for Cash, it would be additional competition for him after he impressed in our FA Cup win over West Ham Utd on Friday night, and so the pressure will ramp up on the Polish international to keep his place by performing at a high level and delivering on what Emery is demanding from him.
🟣🔵👀 Aston Villa and Oscar Mingueza, deal on… and #AVFC director Monchi in attendance at Rayo-Celta tonight. https://t.co/aJ1qahK8T4 pic.twitter.com/xMSqbIQBJl
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 10, 2025
