Aston Villa will seemingly have to consider alternative transfer targets as Marco Asensio appears set to agree a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The 27-year-old is expected to leave Real Madrid on a free transfer when his current contract expires at the end of the month, and speculation had linked Villa with a swoop.
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Unai Emery is likely to be busy this summer in strengthening his squad and making us increasingly competitive, but it doesn’t appear as though Asensio will be one of the reinforcements that arrives in the coming weeks.
As per Fabrizio Romano, the Spanish playmaker and PSG are closing in on reaching an agreement, and talks are so advanced that it’s stated that a deal is set to be completed for him to join the Ligue 1 champions.
The transfer expert noted earlier this week that after discussions had taken place, Villa had submitted their offer to Asensio and so our interest was certainly serious, but unfortunately it doesn’t look as though Emery will get his man.
With 12 goals and eight assists in 50 appearances in all competitions this past season, the Spanish international played a key role for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, and with his creativity, technical ability and eye for goal, he could have added more quality to our attacking play in the final third, had a move materialised.
That said, it would have come with question marks too in terms of his ability to deliver consistently and whether or not he was the ideal marquee signing to address that particular issue, and so it remains to be seen if we can identify and recruit an even better option that will add what Emery is looking for.
The Villa boss has spoken on countless occasions about his desire to have more control in games both in terms of tempo and possession, and it’s likely that players of a similar profile to Asensio will now be considered as we look to significantly improve on what we already have available.
So obviously Mendes did not sell the Villa project well enough. This should have been a done deal. He will once again be a bench warmer.