Aston Villa have been paired with an interest in Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro amid our ongoing uncertainty in that department of the squad.
The club have already confirmed that Robin Olsen will depart when his contract expires at the end of the month, and so that will open up a space in the pecking order as our No.2.
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Internal solutions such as Joe Gauci and Oliwier Zych will be pushing to emerge as the preferred option next season, but there is also ongoing speculation over the future of Emiliano Martinez.
The Argentine shot-stopper has been earmarked as a possible solution to our PSR and SCR troubles ahead of June 30, as his transfer fee and removing his wages off our books could make a significant difference for both sets of financial rules to ensure that we’re compliant across the board and avoid sanctions.
As things stand, he remains a Villa player and there have been no concrete reports of any offers being received as of yet, but with the threat of possibly losing him this summer, Villa are being linked with a solution.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Villa are described as one of the ‘strongest options’ to sign Remiro, as although he won’t seek an exit from Sociedad this summer, he is tipped to listen to offers and could be intrigued by the option of moving to the Premier League.
The 30-year-old is an experienced goalkeeper who impressed last season in particular, and he’s now racked up 270 appearances for Sociedad while having had previous spells at Athletic Bilbao, Huesca and Levante.
With two caps to his name for Spain, he’s emerged as one of the top options between the posts in La Liga, and while that gives reassurances if Villa were to swoop, it also raises another question as to whether he’d be signed with the intention of becoming our No.1, or as back-up behind Martinez or his replacement.
Villa’s priority in the coming weeks will surely be on outgoings to balance our books, and also to raise funds to have the financial strength and flexibility to improve Unai Emery’s squad where possible for the remainder of the transfer window.
In turn, it’s unclear if Remiro will emerge as a priority transfer target or not at this stage as much of our planning could change if Martinez ends up staying, but based on the report above, he is certainly one player worth monitoring as Villa’s interest is said to exist.
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