Aston Villa backed to get rid of Clement Lenglet and sign replacement on free transfer, offer made
Ty Bracey believes the signing of Mario Hermoso on a free transfer could spell the end for Clement Lenglet at Aston Villa.
Spanish outlet, AS reported (5 May) that the Villans had made an offer to sign the defender on a free from Atletico Madrid.
The prospect of playing under Unai Emery and working with Monchi may have convinced the Spaniard to move to B6.
Bracey has suggested that this move would see Lenglet return to Barcelona after his loan expires, a move he feels will be financially beneficial.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bracey said: “He would be great. The market is tough but we’re in pole position for Champions League football and that’s attractive for getting players in.
“If we can get him in on a free, I would absolutely take it. If that’s a player that Unai Emery and Monchi want then I’m fully behind them.
“We do have a habit of getting players in on a free so let’s hope history can repeat itself and we get Hermoso in.
“Lenglet’s on a lot of money and we pay a chunk of his wage. In my opinion, he’s not worth that.
“It’s very important we do the right business this window, especially for FFP. We need to be sensible and do the right business so a signing like that makes complete sense.”
Should Aston Villa sign Mario Hermoso?
With Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, the Villa hierarchy have made a habit of signing great players on free transfers.
Now it looks as if they have pulled another one out of the bag to bring Hermoso in from Atletico Madrid to Villa Park.
The defender is no squad player under Diego Simeone, he has made 27 appearances in La Liga and an additional nine in the Champions League [FotMob].
Per 90 this season he has made 54.53 passes with an 87.30 per cent accuracy which would see he him slot in well to the Villa back line under Emery.
He has also had 79.95 touches per game which shows his willingness to hold the ball and await better passing options.
As a left-footed centre back he could become the perfect deputy for Pau Torres but Emery may have other plans for him.
Given that the Villa manager likes one of his fullbacks to be defensive-minded, Hermoso could be that man. This could give a licence to go out and buy a more attacking right-back option in the summer.
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