Aston Villa have reportedly reached an agreement with Valencia over the season-long loan of midfielder Enzo Barrenechea.
The 23-year-old joined us from Juventus earlier this summer, and showed encouraging and promising signs during our pre-season schedule in a bid to impress Unai Emery.
READ MORE: Contact made as bit-part Villa ace could leave on loan but key issue remains
However, after failing to make the matchday squad for our opening two Premier League games of the campaign, speculation began to emerge this week that the Argentine midfield ace could be set for a loan departure.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa have reached an agreement on a loan move for Barrenechea to join Valencia and it’s expected to be confirmed imminently, but crucially, he adds that there is no option to buy included in the terms of the touted agreement as the talented midfielder is said to be an important part of our future plans.
Although it had been hoped that we’d see Barrenechea continue to develop under Emery this year, a straight loan stint at Valencia could prove to be the more sensible option as it will hopefully provide him with an opportunity to play regularly, gain valuable experience at a high level and develop as a player.
Conversely, if he were to stay at Villa this season, particularly once Boubacar Kamara returns from injury as he’s expected to rejoin group training next month, he would certainly struggle for chances to play, and that in turn could end up hindering his development.
With Villa reportedly trying to shift Leander Dendoncker off our books this week, this may now indicate that we’ve been unable to find a solution for the Belgian international, and so Barrenechea will instead move on with the former staying on as depth in midfield.
Time will tell if that’s the case, but ultimately if Barrenechea does seal his loan switch to Valencia as suggested, it’s hoped that it proves to be a productive spell that helps set him up to be an important figure in our squad from next summer onwards, as the Argentine ace has the characteristics and qualities to be an effective fit in Emery’s structure and style of play.
