Aston Villa are reportedly set to step up their interest in Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza, while there could be an exit to create space for him.
Our defence, and particularly the right-back position, has been a problematic issue for some time, as with a lack of experienced competition and depth behind Matty Cash, it has often led to a selection headache for Unai Emery, which hasn’t always delivered positive results.
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While Kosta Nedeljkovic and Lamare Bogarde continue to improve and develop, the Villa boss has generally opted to shift Ezri Konsa across to cover, with Diego Carlos coming into the Villa starting line-up to fill the subsequent void in the middle.
That solution has worked well at times, but it also runs the risk of disrupting our balance at the back as we look more vulnerable out of possession and less effective with the ball, while Konsa is undoubtedly more comfortable and impactful as a centre-half. As one of our most influential and reliable players, he surely must have a settled role in his preferred spot.
In turn, it seems Villa are working to address that this month, as according to The Telegraph, we’re set to step up our interest in Mingueza, who has seemingly emerged as our top target after Monchi is said to have been on a scouting mission to watch him this past weekend.
The 25-year-old came through the youth ranks at Barcelona before going on to impress at Celta, where he has established himself as a key figure, while earning two caps for Spain at senior level.
With his energy, technical ability, speed and creativity to go with his defensive strengths, the Spaniard appears to tick a lot of the important boxes for Emery, and so time will tell if a deal can be agreed to sign him. It has previously been reported that Villa are willing to pay his €20m release clause, and so it remains to be seen if there is any imminent progress in negotiations.
In order to help that swoop materialise, Villa could look to balance the books and move on Carlos, as the Telegraph report above adds that the Brazilian defender is in talks over a move to Fenerbahce.
It’s noted that getting his wages off the books could be crucial for Villa with one eye on PSR, and given he has been prone to injuries, will turn 32 in March and has a contract that expires in 18 months, this could be the best time to offload him for a decent fee, which in turn can be reinvested in the squad, perhaps with the signing of Mingueza.
This touted reshuffle makes a lot of sense from a sporting and financial perspective, and so it’s hoped that Villa are able to get these deals done, and hopefully come out of the January transfer window in a stronger position to compete, with Emery continuing to assemble a squad capable of doing so.
