Aston Villa are considering joining the race to sign Barcelona star in the next transfer window in January.
Aston Villa are currently going through a left back crisis following the injury of Aaron Wan Bissaka in the last outings. They are now without any pure left back,Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri who have been injured too, even before the season is heading to the second half yet. There is no guarantee that another injury might emerge as the fixtures are getting congested.
Thus, as Emery hinted yesterday after the game,they need another solution. One of them is definitely from signing a new player in January.
According to the report in Caught Offside, Villa is one of the potential suitors.
“Aston Villa is one of the clubs which are following Espart’s progress but no formal bid yet.”
Xavi Espart is another La Masia academy product who rose this season. He has just been promoted for this campaign by Hans Flick and did not take long to seal his place in the starting XI.
He has signed a contract with Blaugrana till summer 2030 with the huge release clause, up to € 100 million or £ 84.3 million. However, the Catalan giant is open to selling him if any clubs can meet their £ 42 million demand in the next transfer window.
Several clubs have expressed their interest in the 19-year old left back beside Aston Villa. Arsenal and Tottenham are the front-runners at the moment in the race. There are also interest from Juventus and Manchester United are keeping tabs on him too. So far, there has been no formal offer yet from any of those suitors.
Espart has featured in 13 games, contributing one goal and two assists so far. Based on his data in FotMob, his form in La Liga this season has been stunning. His xG is 0.30 while his xA is 0.65. The versatile left back 88.6 % successful passes, 20 % successful crosses and 12 times in line-breaking passes.
His successful dribble reaches up to 53.8 % while his winning duel is at 60 %. Espart also made 51 defensive contributions, which includes 22 tackles, 10 interceptions and not nine, but 19 clearances, plus 38 recoveries,
Should Villa be keen on signing him, they should start holding talks with the player and the Catalan side. He can be a real great addition to the squad.
However, The Lions should switch their target to another one, Espart’s teammate who loses his place due to Espart’ meteoric rise. Alejandro Balde could be highly considered. His asking price is only £ 38.5 million, lower than Espart. Emery seems to be the right man to revitalise the career of the 23-year-old wing back who is also capable of playing in both flanks. .
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