Aston Villa are reportedly monitoring Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera ahead of a potential transfer swoop this summer.
Albeit there have been setbacks along the way, it’s been another positive campaign for Unai Emery and the squad, as we reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, semi-finals of the FA Cup and remain in the hunt for a top-five finish in the Premier League.
READ MORE: Top Villa prospect commits long-term future with new deal
While there will be some ‘what ifs’ having come closer to ending our wait for a trophy, we’ve seen further progression as Villa continue to establish ourselves as a genuine contender across all competitions and solidify our position to ensure we’re back there again next season and beyond.
Strengthening Emery’s squad this summer will be a critical part of that process, and having conceded 49 goals in our 36 league outings thus far, giving us the worst defensive record of the top seven sides in the league standings, it’s an area in which we can certainly improve in ahead of next season.
Having conceded three away at Paris Saint-Germain and three more against Crystal Palace in our FA Cup defeat, Villa need to shore things up at the back, and according to Radio Marca, Mosquera has seemingly been identified as a transfer target to help us do that.
The 20-year-old has come through the youth ranks at Valencia and has gone on to make 87 appearances at senior level, while he’s been capped by the Spain U21s as he continues to show the potential to have a very bright future.
In turn, it seems as though he’s captured the attention of those at Villa, with the report above noting that we’ve been closely monitoring Mosquera since last season, and although we’ve yet to make a formal offer to the La Liga side, we appear to be keen on a possible swoop but face a release clause said to stand at €18m.
It’s added that the Spanish defender is open to a move abroad but could have options to stay in the Spanish top flight, and so it will be interesting to see if Villa believe he’s worth triggering that release clause for and becomes our priority target to improve our backline.
While Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa will remain key options next season, Axel Disasi’s loan spell is perhaps unlikely to be turned into a permanent switch given his increasingly limited involvement this season, while it’s unlikely that incoming prospect Yasin Ozcan will be immediately ready to feature, and is another left-sided centre-half option.
Mosquera fits the bill in terms of physical attributes, defensive qualities and ability in possession to match Emery’s preferred style, and so time will tell if he’s at the Villa boss’s disposal next year.
