Dan Bardell: Monchi now ‘putting his stamp’ on Aston Villa transfer policy following Zaniolo deal and Acuna interest
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
New President of Football Operations Monchi is “putting his stamp” on the Aston Villa squad following the signing of Nicolo Zaniolo and interest in Sevilla’s Marcos Acuna, according to Dan Bardell.
While Villa’s previous three signings were all excellent additions, they were in the works before Monchi joined the club in June. Now the Spaniard has the chance to have a real influence over Villa’s transfer activity before the end of the window.
The club announced Zaniolo as their fourth summer signing on Friday (18 August), while Fabrizio Romano tweeted (17 August) that Acuna has already agreed personal terms with Villa.
Bardell claims that this highlights a clear shift in Aston Villa’s transfer policy, as these more “reactive” signings are the work of Monchi.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “Monchi knows Zaniolo from Roma, so this is a Monchi signing with Emery’s sign-off.
“Villa have already brought in three really good signings this summer, but these moves were already in motion before Monchi came to the club so they’re not his signings.
“This is his chance at putting his stamp on the squad. I’m pretty sure Acuna from Sevilla will come to the club, which again is a player that Monchi has worked with.
“What we’re seeing now towards the end of the window is that Villa are having to react to things that are happening rather than being proactive.
“These reactive signings are Monchi, so we’ll see what he’s all about and how good he is at identifying players for the Villa set-up.”
In other Aston Villa news, Bardell has revealed who must replace the injured Tyrone Mings in Villa’s defence.