Aston Villa have reportedly been handed a boost as doubt has been cast over Barcelona’s ability to sign our touted transfer target and Las Palmas playmaker Alberto Moleiro.
The 19-year-old has emerged as a real talent having bagged three goals and nine assists in 69 appearances for Las Palmas thus far, with eight of those assists coming in 29 league games so far this season as he has taken a big step forward this year.
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As he continues to play a key role in their bid for promotion to La Liga, it has unsurprisingly led to speculation over his future, and Villa have been one of the clubs linked with an interest.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona had been in pole position to sign the talented Spain U21s playmaker, but due to their difficult financial situation and inability to reach an agreement on the terms of a deal, doubt has now been cast over their ability to secure his signature.
Villa and Liverpool are specifically mentioned as being interested and willing to pay the €25m being demanded by Las Palmas, but ultimately the entire situation could become further complicated as Moleiro’s release clause is set to increase to €60m should the club achieve promotion to the top flight.
Further, it’s suggested that if Las Palmas did secure promotion, Moleiro would give serious consideration to continuing with them for another year in La Liga as part of his ongoing development and progression, and so it does sound as though it could be tricky to prise him away from Spain this summer if Villa’s interest in serious.
Nevertheless, if the talented youngster is a player that Unai Emery has identified as a particularly important reinforcement for Villa moving forward as part of his long-term plans, time will tell if he gets the backing to make the deal happen and satisfy all parties.
Villa do have options in the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey to play behind Ollie Watkins, but with Emery expected to be significantly backed this summer to mould the squad into his own, new arrivals are very much expected and so it remains to be seen if Moleiro is one of them.