Aston Villa are reportedly set to confirm the signing of Everton midfielder Amadou Onana in a deal worth around £50m.
The 22-year-old has impressed since joining our Premier League rivals in 2022, and that came off the back of a positive stint at Lille which in turn has seen him also become a key figure for Belgium.
READ MORE: Villa summer signing looks sharp in pre-season training as adaptation begins
With a bright future ahead of him for club and country, it appears as though Villa are set to add him to Unai Emery’s squad, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that a deal has now been agreed between the two clubs worth £50m.
He adds that there is a sell-on clause included in the agreement while Onana will put pen to paper on a five-year contract and a medical is scheduled with his official unveiling expected next week.
It’s a vital signing for Villa given our shortcomings in midfield last season, with injuries and suspensions leaving us vulnerable and making it clear that we needed to improve in that area of the squad.
What we perhaps didn’t envisage were our outgoings, with Douglas Luiz and Tim Iroegbunam departing for Juventus and Everton respectively, and so Emery has evidently prioritised a rebuild of his midfield this summer to better suit his demands and ideas.
Enzo Barrenechea arrived from Juventus to add depth and competition, while Ross Barkley will have a crucial role to play in helping to fill the void left behind by Luiz.
However, we still lack physicality and athleticism in that part of the pitch, with a player who can impose himself on games and take command to give us a foothold consistently, and it appears as though Onana has been singled out as our primary solution.
It’s a marquee signing for Villa given the fee and not only the talent that the Belgian international possesses but also the potential he has to get much better, and so it will be fascinating to see how Emery’s influence on him allows him to take his game to the next level.
Time will tell just how many more signings we have in mind this summer, as exits will also likely dictate that our spending is not over. Nevertheless, we’ve added real quality and depth thus far to address key positions with long-term solutions, and it will hopefully put us in a great place to compete on multiple fronts year in and year out moving forward.
