Aston Villa are reportedly only interested in appointing Monchi in a directorial role this summer if he is able to leave Sevilla without us having to pay his release clause.
Villa have been linked with a number of names in recent months as we are seemingly keen to make changes to the management infrastructure at the club, with a sporting director or technical director likely to come in to support Unai Emery.
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Mateu Alemany appeared to be a strong candidate before ultimately deciding to remain at Barcelona, and so Villa’s search has moved on with significant speculation suggesting Monchi is now our top target.
However, according to Marca, Villa only want to prise the 54-year-old away from Spain if he is arrives on a free, thus meaning that we don’t have to pay out his release clause to facilitate a move to the club.
It’s added that Monchi has made a formal request to leave the La Liga side, but his release clause, which is said to be worth over €2m, is the sticking point now as Sevilla want that to be paid to green light a departure, but with Villa now apparently unwilling to pay it, it means Monchi either pays it himself or must stay where he is.
Time will tell how the situation plays out, but it certainly sounds as though it’s becoming increasingly complicated as although Villa want to bring Monchi in, the financial aspect of the move is holding up an agreement being reached.
Fortunately, it doesn’t look as though our search for a director will hold up our transfer plans, as the club announced the signing of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer to get our recruitment push started early.
Nevertheless, it’s important that we do get a resolution on the Monchi situation sooner rather than later, as it’s clear it’s an addition to the management set-up that Villa want to make, and it will likely help Emery continue to build his squad and make us more competitive by having that support around him.
