Aston Villa investigate transfer for Sevilla defender Diego Carlos – report
Aston Villa are “exploring the possibility” of a move for Sevilla defender Diego Carlos during the summer transfer window, The Athletic reports.
Centre-back is a position where manager Steven Gerrard wants to strengthen, and he has a strong reported interest in Liverpool’s Joe Gomez, while Burnley’s James Tarkowski is another “prominent candidate”.
The cost of a move for Carlos is seen as potential stumbling block, and so the club are pursuing a number of avenues at once for defensive help.
The Athletic report says of 29-year-old Carlos: “He is recognised by Villa as being one of Europe’s leading operators in his position, although they might need to free up space in the squad through departures before adding to Gerrard’s resources.”
The Brazilian international has two years left on his contract and reportedly drew interest from the likes of Newcastle in January.
Aim high
Gerrard has proven himself nothing if not ambitious, as he has already added Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara on a free transfer after the significant coup of Philippe Coutinho.
The Mail reported earlier on Wednesday (25 May) that the club had offered Tarkowski at £120,000-a-week contract in order to jump Everton to the front of the queue.
The Englishman would certainly represent better value for money as his contract is expiring at Turf Moor, and is the same age as Carlos.
If players were likely to need to leave in order to facilitate a move for Anfield back-up Gomez then they certainly will to fund a bid for Carlos.
He only missed seven games in all competitions for Sevilla this season, and with defensive partner Jules Kounde potentially leaving for Chelsea the Spanish side will not want both to depart without major compensation.
After winning an Olympic gold medal with his national side Carlos has been a key figure at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan since his 2019 move from Nantes.
It would be another impressive addition if the Villans manage to bring him in, but some significant departures are sure to be necessary soon to keep up this pace in the market.
In other Aston Villa news, Coutinho wants to play in the Champions League with the club.