After Manzambi: Aston Villa Want to Beat Man Utd and Tottenham to £70M Midfielder
- Aston Villa remain busy in the transfer market and are battling it out with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for a Serie A midfielder.
There has been much change at Villa Park already this summer and Unai Emery will be without two key players next season. Youri Tielemans has joined Manchester United after his £35 million release clause was triggered, while Morgan Rogers is on the brink of completing a British transfer record £117m move to Chelsea.
Villa have already focused on dealing with Rogers’ exit as they have signed Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi from Freiburg for around £59m. They have also swooped for Joao Gomes with the Brazilian arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £38m.
Aston Villa Enter Race For Baturina
Another midfielder could be on the cards as Italian outlet Calciomercato reports that Villa are in the race to sign Como’s Martin Baturina. The Croat earned rave reviews in Serie A last season, putting in impressive displays that helped Cesc Fabregas’ side qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Baturina is an attacking midfielder whose versatility allows him to play several other positions including on the left wing. He caught the eye during Croatia’s World Cup campaign, scoring against England in a 4-2 loss.
Villa are joined by United and Tottenham who are also eyeing the 23-year-old and a potential deal could cost around £70m (€80m). He only joined the Italian outfit from Dinamo Zagreb last summer.
Baturina is Exciting But Expensive
With Villa clearly in need of a major reboot in midfield, Baturina could be a short-and long-term solution. He has shown maturity beyond his years at club and international level and is tipped for a very bright future.
The main obstacle is the fee, as £70m is a huge price for a player yet to truly explode into an elite-level playmaker. He’s got bags of potential but any deal for the player will surely be below that valuation.
Emery hasn’t just lost Tielemans and Rogers as he’ll be without Amadou Onana next season. The Belgian suffered an ACL injury at the World Cup and he’ll be a big miss ahead of a return to the UEFA Champions League.
