Aston Villa are likely to join the race to sign one of the most wanted youngsters in Europe this season.
Aston Villa transfer target for January move has been identified. Unai Emery’s side would have to be ready in a tussle to secure the signature of this distinguished target who is still not even 18 years old yet. The aforementioned player is Luca Weinhandl.
According to the report in Caughtoffside, Villa are in a tight race against their two Premier League fellows who have been eyeing on the 17-year-old midfielder.
“Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa are all going strong for Luca Weinhandl ahead of the January transfer window.”
Weinhandl is a young midfielder in Austrian Bundesliga outfit, Sturm Graz, who was already promoted to the first team last season. He was already fielded 13 times last season, including two games in Europa League.
Last month in a match against Rapid Vienna and earlier this month in a fixture versus LASK Linz, a number of scouts from Premier League clubs were reportedly watching Weinhandl closely and making detailed reports on the versatile midfielder. His club appears to be open to selling him with the transfer fee around £17 million.
It is a relatively low fee for such remarkable talent. Villa should have no problem in meeting their demand, especially if they can convince him with more regular minutes with the first team almost immediately later.
The Austrian midfielder has already featured 23 games in total for his team. He has registered two goals and provided one assist. His main position is central midfielder but he can be deployed as defensive midfielder or operating in the left flank.
Based on the data in FotMob, his form this season in the second line has been superb. His successful passes is up to 77.7 % while his accurate long balls is 55 % but his successful crosses are only 20 %. Weinhandl has created seven chances so far.
His attributes for ball possession are actually higher. His successful dribbler is 56.2 %, with 52.9 % for winning duels and 60 % for winning aerial duels. In the defending phase, the Graz-born has made 22 defensive contributions. It includes 12 tackles, three interceptions, six clearances and one blocking shot.
Weinhandl could be a great addition to Aston Villa squad in the future. He could be the deputy for Leon Goretzka or even be developed to a box-to-box midfielder with better defensive attributes. It would be interesting how much The Clarets and Blue would attempt to sign him as Arsenal has been tipped as the frontrunner in the race.
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