Aston Villa are closing in on the signing of Spain midfielder Marco Asensio, according to reports.
Villa need to bolster their attacking options with Jacob Ramsey set to join Newcastle United on a £40 million transfer this week and Asensio is a known quantity after spending the second half of 2024/25 on loan at Villa Park.
The 29-year-old has a year left on his contract at Paris Saint-Germain and Sky Sport France reports that a transfer fee in the region of £16 million would get the deal done while personal terms are already agreed.
Asensio is unwanted at the Parc des Princes and PSG expected to have offloaded him long ago, only for his proposed move to Fenerbahce to fall through over his wage demands.
Villa benefited from Asensio’s immediate impact last season but his performances overall were more a tale of fits and starts than consistent excellence. Villa supporters will be divided over the extent of the club’s commitment to Asensio but he showed in flashes that he’s a step up in technical quality.
Though he drifted out towards the right last season, the availability of Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand provides Villa manager Unai Emery with various options should the late move for Asensio come to fruition.
The likelihood is that Asensio picks up a free role off Ollie Watkins, Malen or Guessand. Morgan Rogers will be used there too but could also be shifted to the left in place of Ramsey. Villa played much of pre-season with Ramsey tucked in and the left-back providing attacking width, perhaps creating a role for Asensio himself.
Asensio joined PSG from Real Madrid in 2023 and has had next to no impact in Ligue 1. He’s proven, highly respected in the game but in need of a new lease of life.
Signing Asensio makes tactical sense and Villa have seen enough from him to be encouraged about his expected arrival. There is a leap of faith to be made, too. Emery has earned that faith and his desire to bring Asensio back to Birmingham is clear.
Making the deal happen is more complicated. Villa held off earlier in the summer transfer window, evidently keen on Asensio but limited by the financial regulatory framework in which Monchi and Damian Vidagany have to operate.
Agreeing a three-year contract with Asensio isn’t a show of confidence in the player or his ability to keep positively influencing Premier League matches into his thirties. It’s a reflection of Villa’s need to comply with familiar foes: Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR), UEFA squad cost ratio rules and the associated agreement that the club will reduce its European wage bill.
A three-year contract in this situation serves several purposes.
It helps attract the player in the first place but it also allows Villa, presumably, to slightly lower Asensio’s wage package in order to balance their significant commitment to him.
It also minimises the PSR impact of the transfer fee, which would be accounted for over three years rather than two or one via amortisation.
Keen observers will have noticed that Villa don’t like to allow anyone’s contract to drop below two years if it can be avoided. Some, like Boubacar Kamara, will sign up to contract extensions that protect their transfer value. Others, like Ramsey, will be regretfully allowed to leave if their valuations are met because that’s the world we’re living in now.
As ever, this is stuff football fans shouldn’t have to care about in such detail. The bottom line – pardon the expression – is that Villa are looking to sign a very fine player with a year or two left at the top if he can find his best form, and they have the right manager to unlock that form.
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