Marco Asensio can be a game-changing signing for Aston Villa as transfer news emerges
Aston Villa are interested in signing Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio this summer, according to a report from The Athletic.
The unplayable 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and wishes to prolong his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu but that reportedly won’t stop Villa continuing to monitor the situation closely.
Manager Unai Emery is desperately keen to bolster his depleted attacking quota this season and is reportedly set to be backed heavily by club owners NSWE ahead of a busy summer for Aston Villa.
Emery has transformed things on the pitch at Villa Park since arriving back in November, taking the club to eighth in the Premier League after 13 wins from 22 top-flight games.
The Spaniard has done that with the majority of the squad he inherited from former manager Steven Gerrard, making just two signings in the January window in Alex Moreno and Jhon Duran.
Emery has been forced to alter his tactics as a result of a lack of attacking options, especially with Leon Bailey and Philippe Coutinho facing a period on the injury treatment table.
Despite this, the Spaniard has worked wonders making Aston Villa fans dream of what he could potentially do with some quality additions in his weaponry and Asensio certainly represents a stellar and sensational proposition for Villa to take that next step next season.
With Real Madrid hesitant on offering Asensio a new deal, their loss could be Aston Villa’s welcome gain and Emery will surely be licking his lips at the prospect of signing a potential game-changer in Asensio who has proven, despite his limited game-time at the Santiago Bernabeu that he is amongst the most prolific forwards on the continent.
The right-winger has been hailed by members of the media this season, being described as “sensational” for the impact he has made off the bench, and he has recently started to impress right from the off.
In a recent match, Real Madrid ran out 6-0 winners against Real Valladolid [2 April], with the 35-time Spain international bagging a goal and an assist, scored on five occasions in his last eight games.
So far this season, he’s managed 11 goals and 8 assists from just 1,770 minutes on the pitch – an incredible goal involvement rate. Asensio’s ability to pick out his teammates is also very impressive, ranking in the 92th percentile for passes completed per 90 in the past year when compared to other wingers.
He’s a destructive and heavy influence when it comes to scoring and creating chances, also ranking in the in the 99th-percentile for non-penalty goals per 90, 97th percentile for shots total, 93rd percentile for assists per 90 and in the 83rd percentile for shot-creating actions per 90 [FBRef] – numbers which will easily place him as the best-performing attacker bar Ollie Watkins should he make the move to Villa Park this summer.
The likes of Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn have been playing on the flanks due to the absence of Coutinho and Bailey.
Signing Asensio will not only be a marquee acquisition but he will be viewed as an upgrade on any of the wide players and unlike Coutinho or Bailey, he will be the one to shoulder Ollie Watkins’ goal-scoring burdens.
Aston Villa will be incredibly smart to try and persuade Asensio to join the Emery revolution at Villa Park as the Spanish international could well take them to lofty heights once again next season. An absolute game-changer acquisition – as his stats clearly show.
In other Aston Villa news, a Villa sensation could miss up to nine months of action and faces the threat of a potential ACL tear as well.