Aston Villa have been tipped to focus their attention on targets in La Liga this summer, with specific positions being touted as potential priorities.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Villa are set to appoint Mateu Alemany in a key role following confirmation of his exit from Barcelona this summer, and so combined with Unai Emery’s influence on decision-making at the club, it’s a natural link then to suggest that we could look to Spain to strengthen the squad.
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While we wait for confirmation of that appointment, the full focus for now will be on the final four Premier League games of the season as we continue to pursue European football for next year, but our preparations for the summer transfer window will surely have already gotten underway behind the scenes.
According to the Daily Mail, Alemany is expected to arrive and that will in turn influence the hierarchy and running of the club moving forward as we look to become increasingly competitive on and off the pitch, and there are four areas of the Villa squad that are touted as being of likely focus.
With the appointment of Alberto Benito as a new scout in Spain, we will seemingly be paying close attention to possible solutions in La Liga, but it’s added that a forward, a winger, a midfielder and potentially a right-back too are all on our list of transfer needs.
Time will tell if that is indeed accurate and if Villa can bring in our preferred targets, but ultimately Emery has significantly improved the current options available to him, he will have analysed closely what he has at his disposal and identified where we can still improve.
Coupled with the expected influence of Alemany and Johan Lange – provided the latter remains in place and isn’t moved on as part of a reshuffle – it’s hoped that all concerned are on the same page this summer and are able to add reinforcements to help take us to the next level.
Emery was particularly public with his desire to bring in a winger in January, but perhaps with it being difficult to get a deal done for his ideal solution, Bertrand Traoré returned from a loan spell to offer a new option for the rest of this season at least.
Adding competition and depth up front with Ollie Watkins will be vital, while a midfielder and right-back also make sense given our recent injury setbacks, as they have left us lacking quality depth and having to stick with the same options week to week.
For a club looking to compete on multiple fronts moving forward, and perhaps even Europe as early as next season, more is needed and so it will be fascinating to see who arrives in a big summer for us.