Aston Villa are reportedly ‘at the forefront of clubs’ with an interest in Sporting attacker Pedro Goncalves and will make an attempt to sign him this summer.
Villa are expected to be busy in the next transfer window as Unai Emery will look to stamp his mark on the squad and mould it into his own after a relatively quiet January.
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Having had this season to analyse and assess the options available to him, he’ll no doubt identify where we can improve and strengthen in the long term, and it appears as though a winger could remain a high priority.
As reported by Record, Villa are ready to ‘come with force’ in the summer to sign Goncalves, although it’s added that negotiations could certainly be difficult as not only does the 24-year-old have a contract until 2026 with a release clause of €80m, Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is said to have no desire to lose such a key player.
In turn, it remains to be seen if Villa can convince Sporting to sell and if our offer satisfies their demands, while of course we would have to also agree on personal terms with the Portuguese international, should talks get that far.
With that in mind, there is still a long way to go in a potential transfer swoop, but there is no denying the talent and potential that Goncalves possesses and so it would be an exciting move.
While he has previously spent time at Braga, Valencia and even Wolves at youth level, he joined Sporting from Famalicao in August 2020, and has gone on to contribute 54 goals and 26 assists in 112 appearances for the Portuguese giants.
Goncalves is considered a left-winger, and that is where he has predominantly been used this season too, but he has versatility and tactical flexibility to also play through the middle and on the opposite flank too.
It’s added in the report that Famalicao are entitled to 50 percent of a transfer fee should he leave Sporting, and so that could be another tricky factor in negotiations between the clubs.
However, if Emery is convinced that Goncalves would be an excellent addition to the Villa squad and would significantly improve us, time will tell if the club hierarchy are prepared to back him and find a solution to reach an agreement with Sporting this summer over a transfer.