Ashley Preece: Aston Villa yet to bid for Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi
Aston Villa have not yet bid for Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, and are hoping the player will push for a move to be reunited with Unai Emery this month, according to journalist Ashley Preece.
According to CBS journalist Ben Jacobs [11 January], the Villans are currently working on signing the French international midfielder this month, and Marseille will want around £44m to let him leave after they only bought him for £9m in July.
Unai Emery has spent his first window at Villa Park, already completing [11 January] the signing of Alex Moreno from Real Betis, and close to completing a deal to sign [16 January] Chicago Fire striker Jhon Duran, and Emery is on the hunt for another midfielder to add to his ranks.
In a recent online Q&A for Birmingham Mail [18 January], journalist Preece was asked what the latest was surrounding Guendouzi and Villa’s reported interest in him.
In response, he said: “No official bid for Guendouzi just yet, I’m told. I’m expecting this one to rumble on quite late into the window. It’ll be down to the player to push for a return with a manager he loves in Emery. I think it’d be a great signing.”
Smart
Emery trying to sign his former protege may well be deemed as smart business. The former Villarreal boss has tremendously gotten his Villa era off to a great start already, winning four of his six Premier League games.
Such form has allowed the club hierarchy to open up the chequebook for Emery, and it’s showing that he is clearly being backed to fire the West Midlands back amongst the elite in the English top-flight.
During his time with Arsenal, Guendouzi scored one goal and provided five assists in 82 appearances across all competitions, with over 60 of those appearances coming under Emery. He’s morphed into a key performer for Marseille since he joined, becoming a well-rounded figure in the attacking third, along with his defensive qualities.
Villa already possesses some quality midfielders in their arsenal, with summer signing Boubacar Kamara thriving under Emery alongside Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn, and adding Guendouzi to the mix will only strengthen the Villans even further moving forward.
However, it is unlikely that they’ll spend in the upper regions of £40m to get their man. There could well be more cheaper and attainable options elsewhere this month.
Though, if the club have the money available in the summer transfer window, then going for Guendouzi is a no-brainer.