Aston Villa have reportedly agreed on a £12.5m fee with Real Betis to sign Alex Moreno, who is expected in Birmingham on Wednesday to undergo a medical.
Speculation in recent days has suggested that Moreno was edging closer to becoming Unai Emery’s first signing as Villa boss, as he looks set to end a three-year stint at Betis which has seen him make 122 appearances for the club while adding six goals and 14 assists to his contribution defensively.
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According to Sky Sports, a £12.5m fee has now been agreed between the two clubs, and he will be in Birmingham on Wednesday to undergo a medical and finalise his transfer to join us.
It’s added that personal terms will also be discussed, but given that we’re arranging a medical and have agreed a fee to sign him, that shouldn’t be too much of an obstacle to official announcing the move this week.
Moreno, 29, is an excellent addition for Villa. As well as being strong defensively with an aggressive approach – which should suit the way Emery wants us to play – he has energy, pace and technical quality to push forward and offer a real attacking threat down the left flank too – as reflected in his goal contribution numbers detailed above while at Betis.
Villa do have options in that area of the squad already in Lucas Digne and Ludwig Augustinsson, but Emery is now stamping his mark on the squad and bringing in players that fit his ideas and style of play, and so it will be interesting to see what that means for those currently in the group set to face additional competition.
Looking at the expected signing of Moreno in isolation though, it looks to be a sensible swoop for a player in the prime of his career who can add great qualities to the side and arguably improves us immediately. With that in mind, it’s hoped that the formalities are dealt with this week with minimal fuss and he’s announced as a Villa player shortly.
