Aston Villa have confirmed that Enzo Barrenechea has joined Benfica on a season-long loan deal, with key details touted over the agreement.
The 24-year-old was signed from Juventus last summer, but spent last season on loan at Valencia where he made 33 appearances and impressed.
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However, it seemingly wasn’t enough to convince Unai Emery to integrate him into his squad for the upcoming campaign, as Villa have confirmed that Barrenechea has joined Benfica on a season-long loan deal.
Further, The Athletic report that there is an obligation to buy worth €15m inserted into the agreement next summer, while Villa will retain a 30 percent sell-on clause should the Argentine midfielder leave the Portuguese giants in the future.
Although competition for places is fierce in that department with Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley vying for a starting role while the likes of John McGinn and Lamare Bogarde can drop back into the deeper pivot too, it’s a shame to see Barrenechea likely now move on without ever really getting a real shot at breaking into the set-up at Villa.
His loan spell at Valencia showed his ability to add technical quality, composure, passing range, positional awareness and tenacity in the deeper midfield role, and so it looked as though he’d made a strong case to show that he could fit into Emery’s preferred system and style of play.
However, it appears as though it wasn’t enough to earn a spot ahead of those named above, and so ultimately Villa have made the sensible business decision by getting his salary off the wage bill this year, collecting a decent fee to recoup what was spent on him and more, while the expectation is that Barrenechea will shine at Benfica and earn a big move elsewhere at some stage in his career, and a 30 percent sell-on is a significant clause.
Time will tell ultimately tell if we’ve made the right decision, as a lot of pressure will be on Barkley in particular this season to prove that it was the best choice to continue with him and show faith in his ability to make an impact in the more immediate future, but it does feel a shame and disappointing that we won’t get to see Barrenechea in a Villa shirt again.
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