Aston Villa are reportedly closing in on reaching an agreement over the transfer of Diego Carlos, as he looks set for an exit this month.
The 31-year-old has been heavily linked with a departure dating back to last summer’s transfer window, and while a move didn’t materialise on that occasion, it looks as though his time at Villa could be coming to an end this time round.
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Carlos has been limited to 17 appearances so far this season as he continues to provide cover in defence for Unai Emery, although to his credit, the Brazilian centre-half has been an important part of our progress over the past couple of years having also had to recover from a serious injury setback soon after joining us.
However, it’s felt as though the time is now right for Villa to move him on and upgrade in that department, and according to Fabrizio Romano, Fenerbahce are said to be closing in on a deal to sign him, with a ‘final round of talks’ now hopefully set to lead to a breakthrough between the two clubs and personal terms can subsequently be agreed upon.
As per Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, an agreement has been reached, while Yakup Cinar reports that the deal is worth €13m, which if accurate, would be excellent business from Villa.
Speculation has been rife in recent days regarding Carlos’ future, and so until an official announcement is made to confirm his exit, it remains to be seen if an agreement is reached between Villa and Fenerbahce, as previous reports had suggested that the Turkish giants had failed to find a compromise which in turn led to other interested clubs coming into play.
From a Villa perspective, it’s evident that we’re now keen to make a change in that area of the squad as we look to improve and strengthen the group at Emery’s disposal, and an exit for Carlos makes a lot of sense when taking into consideration his age at 31, his contract which has just 18 months remaining on it and his history of being injury and error prone.
Villa have been paired with an interest in a number of defensive targets already, and so if Carlos is to move on, it’s hoped that we have a replacement ready to come in and fill that void to provide competition and cover behind Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.
