Aston Villa transfer target Luiz Henrique is reportedly valued at around £20m by Real Betis, as Unai Emery considers stepping up his interest.
It’s been a busy month for Villa already with incomings and outgoings, as Emery is continuing to mould the squad into his own but he may feel he still needs to add further reinforcements before the deadline.
READ MORE: Patience crucial but confidence in Emery’s ability to develop Villa youngster
The Spanish tactician has insisted that Villa will only make signings who improve the squad and so it’s very much a case of quality over quantity, and that could mean we need to be patient until the summer for him to bring in his priority targets.
Nico Williams turns down move, Henrique valuation
According to the Daily Mail though, Villa have failed in their pursuit of Athletic Bilbao youngster Nico Williams, as despite being prepared to pay his £45m release clause, the 20-year-old has turned down the move as he wishes to stay with his current club.
That in turn has led Villa to consider alternative options, and it’s added in the report that we’ve made enquiries for Henrique too, who is said to be valued in the region of £20m.
Having already signed Moreno from Betis this month, it remains to be seen if they are willing to part ways with another key player, with Henrique, 22, scoring three goals and providing five assists in 24 appearances for the club since his move from Fluminense last summer.
The Brazilian ace would add much-needed width and wing play for us on the right flank, a position that has been an issue for Emery thus far, albeit those who have been deployed in that role have done well.
However, the issue for the Villa boss is that the likes of Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn have a natural tendency to drift inside, while our playmakers Emiliano Buendia and Philippe Coutinho prefer to operate in more central areas.
Leon Bailey is the main option who can give us that width and cut inside from the right, but Emery has emphasised the need for different profiles and characteristics to give him various options to win games.
Henrique would provide that, but time will tell if a deal can be agreed.
Villa also linked with Deulofeu offer
Meanwhile, Sport Witness report, via the paper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, that Villa are willing to make a €20m offer for Udinese forward Gerard Deulofeu, while we could put a €4m-a-year contract on the table to try and convince the Spaniard to return to the Premier League.
That said, it’s added that Udinese want to keep their key man until the end of the season, and so it remains to be seen if he becomes a realistic option as we move closer to the transfer deadline.
With Williams seemingly off the list and doubts over Deulofeu, Henrique could potentially emerge as a top target for Villa this week but whether or not that touted £20m price-tag is enough to put us off is unclear at this stage.
