Aston Villa have reportedly had a bid rejected by Las Palmas for talented youngster Alberto Moleiro, but we maintain an interest to find a deal.
Moleiro, 19, has continued to impress for Las Palmas this season as they push for promotion to La Liga, contributing seven assists in 23 league appearances.
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Having also been capped at U21 level by Spain, it appears as though he has a bright future ahead of him and would add creativity and technical quality to our play in the final third.
According to El Gol Digital, Villa have had a bid rejected for Moleiro already, with Las Palmas unwilling to negotiate for anything below €30m, which is reportedly his current release clause. It’s suggested that Villa could make a fresh offer to prise him away this month though, as there is concern on our side that his clause will double this summer if the club achieve promotion and so it will only become increasingly difficult to land him.
Ultimately, with Las Palmas holding a slim advantage at the top of the LaLiga 2 standings with 25 games gone, it seems difficult to see them giving the green light to an exit of such a key player which could derail their promotion hopes.
In turn, Villa may well have to trigger the touted release clause in Moleiro’s contract in order to force the move to happen, but it remains to be seen if we’re willing to splash out such a hefty fee on a player still largely unproven, particularly at the top level.
That said, if Emery is convinced by his talent and potential, and believes that he can develop and improve his game to ensure he becomes a pivotal player for Villa, then perhaps the hierarchy should trust his judgement and move now in order to bring in a potentially long-term solution.
Villa have been linked with a number of transfer targets as we edge closer to the transfer deadline, and having only signed Alex Moreno and Jhon Duran thus far while approving of several exits, the feeling is that Emery could certainly do with reinforcements for the remainder of the season.
While the Villa boss is right to insist that he only wants to sign players who significantly improve the squad, he would surely welcome new signings before Tuesday to sustain our European push this season.
Alberto Moleiro fantastic LM for UD Las Palmas in league 2 of Spain. 19 years old. 7 assists in 23 matches this season pic.twitter.com/K5FqG2Bgsz
— GustoSZN (@BBrownCFCVT) January 24, 2023
