Aston Villa are reportedly willing to pay the release clause to prise goalkeeper Joan Garcia away from Espanyol this summer.
The 23-year-old shot-stopper has come through the youth ranks at the La Liga club and has since gone on to make 61 appearances at senior level, as he continues to impress and attract interest from top clubs around Europe.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as disappointing Villa exit FA Cup, season at risk of fizzling out
In the current campaign, he has kept seven clean sheets and conceded 41 goals in 32 league outings, with Espanyol in mid-table safety for now as they fend off the threat of a relegation battle.
With speculation linking Robin Olsen with an exit this summer when his current Villa contract expires, that could leave us light in that department, and so signing a potential replacement would make sense to ensure that we’re not left short.
According to Pericos Marca, Villa are said to be willing to pay Garcia’s €25m release clause, with both Monchi and Unai Emery said to be admirers of his talent.
Should Villa look to swoop for the Spain U21 international though, we’d ideally do it in the early part of the upcoming summer transfer window, as the report above notes that his release clause will increase to €30m in the last fortnight of the market.
Although Emiliano Martinez still has many years at the top given he only turns 33 in September, he also isn’t getting any younger and we’ve not really had serious competition pushing for him for that starting berth this season, with Olsen seen as an experienced and reliable option to have on the bench in case he’s needed.
In turn, landing Garcia could be a smart move from the club if they do indeed see that position as a priority this summer, while it’s worth noting that Joe Gauci and Oliwier Zych may well come into our thinking too as we work out the pecking order between the posts.
It’s fundamental to our hopes of continuing to progress and compete at the top level to keep improving the squad and make it more competitive, and so if signing Garcia helps us do that and doesn’t limit our ability to spend on other positions too as we have other needs to address this summer, then time will tell if this is a serious pursuit of the goalkeeper’s signature.