Exequiel Palacios summer transfer mooted amid Aston Villa links with Bayer Leverkusen
Aston Villa may be able to utilise their previous links with Bayer Leverkusen to sign Exequiel Palacios this summer, according to Dan Bardell.
SPORT BILD journalist Christian Falk reported on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing on 2 February that Villa are considered a “hot prospect” for the Argentinian international when the transfer window reopens.
He pointed out that the Villans have already signed attackers Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby from the Bundesliga side, but claimed Manchester City and Newcastle United are also in the hunt for the 25-year-old midfielder.
Bardell believes signing someone from Germany would be a “hell of a lot cheaper” than bringing another midfielder in from a Premier League club as Unai Emery looks to strengthen his squad at Villa Park.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I think they do need another central midfielder. McGinn is such a loss when he doesn’t play in those attacking wide positions and he had to fill the gap in central midfield before his suspension.
“I do think if they are in the Champions League, they are going to need more options than they’ve got now, especially with the new Champions League format. At the minimum now, I think we can say Villa are going to be in the Europa League next season, which would be a step up.
“I do think the German market is a good market because you’re talking about players there with European and Bundesliga experience.
“But the German clubs don’t have loads of money, except for Bayern Munich. Buying someone like him is going to be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying someone in the Premier League.
“Villa have had success in the Bundesliga because Leon Bailey is having a fantastic season and I do still think Diaby’s going to come good. Villa obviously have a relationship with Leverkusen as well, which might help.
“It’s very difficult to predict how Villa are going to operate in the summer because we don’t know what competition they are going to be in, how much money there’s going to be available.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens because, if they qualify for the Champions League, they are certainly going to need some extra sprinkles of quality in that squad.”
Could Aston Villa sign Exequiel Palacios?
It could be difficult for Villa to sign Palacios this summer given how well Leverkusen have performed in the Bundesliga so far this season.
But as Bardell points out, they do have a previous relationship with the German club and could look to use that to their advantage over some of the other interested parties.
It feels like they will have to at least qualify for the Champions League this season to stand a chance, though, given that he’s practically guaranteed that following Leverkusen’s strong campaign.
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