Aston Villa have reportedly ‘decided’ to try and sign Pedro Goncalves from Sporting this summer after another impressive performance against Arsenal.
The 24-year-old now has 17 goals and nine assists in 39 appearances across all competitions so far this season, as he continues to play a fundamental role for the Portuguese giants through his creativity and eye for goal in the final third.
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After bagging 15 goals and 14 assists in 41 outings last season, and 23 goals and five assists in 37 games the previous year, Goncalves has continued to deliver consistently at a high level and would certainly bolster our attacking options were a move to materialise.
According to Record, Villa have long been monitoring the Portuguese international, with previous reports from the outlet suggesting we’ve scouted him in recent months, and after keeping a close eye on him against Arsenal last week in the Europa League – where he scored a stunning goal at the Emirates too – it’s noted that while all reports have been positive on him already, Villa have decided to move for him this summer.
It won’t be easy to prise him away from Sporting though, as it’s added that he has an €80m release clause in his contract, and with 50 percent of any transfer fee going to his former club Famalicao, Sporting will surely push for as much as possible from Villa, or any other interested club for that matter.
In turn, time will tell how high Villa are willing to bid for Goncalves, and that will likely be influenced by how much Emery wants to sign him if he believes that he would be a fundamental addition to the squad in helping us reach the next level.
The Spanish tactician has consistently insisted that he only wants to sign players who significantly improve what we already have at his disposal. In turn, big-money marquee signings to address key positions could be the transfer strategy and approach moving forward rather than several lower-cost moves, but it remains to be seen if the club are ready to back Emery in potentially having to splash out a huge fee on Goncalves.
For now though, it certainly sounds as though he has convinced Villa to intensify our pursuit, and we’ll see if the two clubs can reach an agreement over a summer transfer deal if discussions take place in the coming weeks and months.