Aston Villa are reportedly interested in Sevilla left-back Marcos Acuna, as Unai Emery eyes further reinforcements this month.
While Alex Moreno has been sidelined by an injury since the end of last season, the Spaniard will hopefully return later this month or in early September to hand us an important boost.
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However, just days after we lost Emiliano Buendia to a serious knee injury, Tyrone Mings is expected to now join him in missing most, if not all, of the campaign, after he sustained a significant knee injury of his own during our defeat to Newcastle Utd on Saturday.
Villa did sign Pau Torres this summer, and so the Spanish international is now set to play a prominent role for us this season, but further signings to add competition and depth could now be needed.
According to Matteo Moretto, Villa are interested in Acuna, and it’s suggested that contact is ongoing between the clubs and with the player as we look to try and agree terms for a transfer.
The 31-year-old has made 124 appearances for the La Liga outfit, scoring five goals and providing 12 assists to go along with his defensive work. Prior to that, he also played in excess of 100 games for Racing Club and Sporting Lisbon, and so combined with his 53 caps for Argentina, he certainly has plenty of experience and pedigree at the top level.
He’s of course someone that Villa’s President of Football Operations, Monchi, will know well too after his time working there prior to joining us, and so it remains to be seen if it’s a signing that Emery is pushing for, if he believes that Acuna could be an important addition.
That said, it would add a key option to compete with Lucas Digne in the more immediate future, while allowing Torres to settle into playing as a centre-half in Mings’ absence, rather than shifting him across to left-back.
However, with Moreno not far off a return and with Digne offering experienced cover for now, it could be argued that it’s not a necessary signing for us, and perhaps another left-footed centre-back to cover for Torres this season would be the better move.
