Aston Villa to follow Bayern Munich transfer model, free transfer of Dani Ceballos is ‘no-brainer’ – Sky Sports journalist
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports and The Athletic’s Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Dan Bardell believes Aston Villa can follow Bayern Munich’s lead in the free-agent market and look to sign Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos this summer.
Ceballos, 26, previously worked under Emery during his time at Arsenal and has since become a Champions League winner at Real Madrid.
The midfielder, who has won 13 caps for the Spanish national team, is out of contract at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer and will be available to leave the club on a free transfer.
Aston Villa previously dipped into the free-agent market last summer through the acquisition of Boubacar Kamara from Marseille, who has gone on to become a mainstay in Emery’s side.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell admitted that the free market has been brilliantly used by clubs such as Bayern Munich in recent years, and Aston Villa can follow suit to save cash for big-name signings elsewhere in their squad.
He said: “The one I’ve heard more over the last few days is Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid, and he obviously ticks a lot of boxes because he’s played under Emery at Arsenal before.
“So if you’re bringing in someone like that on a free, you can save your budget for elsewhere in other positions, so Villa could really target a big striker, for example.
“We have already seen the club do this from last summer, bringing players in on a free like with Boubacar Kamara. It’s a smart market to operate in.
“Look at the Bayern Munich model and how many players they have brought from their rivals on free transfers over the past decade, they have done it time and time again, and Emery could look to follow in this manner.
“If Villa can get Ceballos on a free, somebody who has played in the Premier League before and in Europe as well, it’s a no-brainer really.”
Unai Emery is expected to overhaul his Aston Villa squad this summer, with big-name transfers such as Ferran Torres, Marco Asensio and Dusan Vlahovic already tipped.
The lure of European football is likely to be key in completing business this summer, with Aston Villa currently one game away from sealing this feat for the first time in over a decade.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery might be forced to sell this three-pass Aston Villa player after his poor performance against Liverpool.