Aston Villa have reportedly opened talks over signing Famalicao goalkeeper Luiz Junior as we look to bolster our options in that department.
The 23-year-old has made 139 appearances for the Portuguese outfit since initially joining them at youth level in 2019, as he kept eight clean sheets and conceded 44 goals in 35 games across all competitions last season.
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According to Maisfutebol’s Bruno Andrade, Villa have opened talks for the shot-stopper, and it’s claimed that our intention is to make an offer of an initial €10m plus €2m in potential add-ons.
Time will tell if that’s enough to get the green light from Famalicao to approve a transfer, but it will likely raise eyebrows for some given the goalkeeping options we already have at the club, which in turn would suggest that it isn’t really a requirement this summer to strengthen further.
Emiliano Martinez will of course continue as first choice between the posts for the foreseeable future, while Robin Olsen provided cover for him as our No.2 last season.
Villa signed Joe Gauci in January to add more depth, and having had six months or so at the club now, he’ll have had time to adapt, settle, and hopefully push on and show his quality to emerge as Martinez’s biggest competition.
Further, Viljami Sinisalo is a potential long-term solution as he has a bright future ahead of him, and so unless there are outgoings being planned, it doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense for Villa to invest so heavily in another goalkeeper.
Given Luiz Junior’s experience and where he’s at in his career, he would arguably expect to slot in behind Martinez immediately and push him for minutes as we try to compete across multiple fronts next season and beyond.
In turn, perhaps if Olsen is set to move on, or the likes of Gauci and Sinisalo will be loaned out again or sold on a permanent basis in the latter’s case, there could be a void that needs to be filled in the coming weeks and Luiz Junior has been identified as the ideal option.