Aston Villa reportedly saw our interest in Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos snubbed as he seemingly isn’t open to a potential move.
Ceballos, 26, has until recently struggled to cement his place in the starting XI at the Bernabeu, making just 21 appearances across all competitions so far this season, contributing one goal and four assists.
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Having previously had an experience in the Premier League with Arsenal where he worked with Unai Emery, it has been reported that the possibility of a reunion was offered, but the Spaniard turned it down.
According to Marca, Villa made an approach for Ceballos but were rejected, as it’s suggested that he isn’t interested in a return to the Premier League and would rather stay in Spain, preferably with Real Madrid.
It’s unclear at this stage if the Spanish giants feel the same way as his current contract is set to expire this summer, and so if new terms aren’t agreed, it remains to be seen whether or not Villa and Emery try again to convince him over a move to join us and bolster our midfield options as a free agent.
Having loaned out both Marvelous Nakamba and Morgan Sanson last month, the pair face uncertain futures at the club and so could move on permanently in the summer, which in turn would allow the Villa boss to continue to stamp his own mark on the squad and bring in his own reinforcements in midfield.
That said, Ceballos is said to be attracting interest from Atletico Madrid too, as per Marca, and so if he doesn’t get the offer to extend his stay at the Bernabeu, he may have the option of making the short trip across to their city rivals.
Given that there were clear reasons offered in the report above as to why he rejected Villa’s interest, it seems unlikely that the situation will change. Nevertheless, time will tell if contract offers in Spain are enough to convince him to put pen to paper, and so Emery may well be keeping a close eye on how it progresses with a view of trying to secure a reunion again at the end of the season.