Aston Villa to pre-agree £54m-rated Álex Baena signing in December
Bryan King believes Monchi could agree a deal for Villarreal forward Álex Baena in December ahead of the January transfer window opening.
The ex-Villa scout has speculated that Unai Emery’s side could look to agree a move in advance of the transfer window opening.
As previously reported by CaughtOffside (29 October), both Villa and Newcastle want to sign the £54million-rated Baena, with the West Midlands outfit expected to be in the “driving seat”.
According to TBR Football (18 November), Villa scouts were in attendance to watch Baena in action as Spain beat Denmark 2-1 at Parken in the UEFA Nations League on Friday (15 November).
And King – speaking exclusively to Villa News – thinks Baena is eager to reunite with Emery.
“Baena is a Spanish player, playing for the national team,” King said.
“Emery is a Spanish manager, communication would be easy, and I’m sure Baena wouldn’t mind playing for Emery. Villa might perhaps look to bring Baena in quicker than initially thought. They could look to make a move in January. Maybe a deal could be agreed in advance and the move complete in January.
“However, it is always tough to get a deal agreed in the middle of the season, and certainly for a player of that quality.”
Aston Villa to reunite Unai Emery and Alex Baena?
Baena and Emery previously worked together at Villarreal. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the forward favour a move to Villa to reunite with his former manager.
However, several clubs will be chasing his signature after his impressive form as of late. As a result, Villa will be cautious about being beaten to the punch in the race for the highly-rated 23-year-old.
If Emery is keen to sign Baena, then Villa should be doing all they can to fulfil their manager’s wishes.
And if that includes perhaps paying a bit more to get a deal done in January, then it might be worth it.
In other Aston Villa news, Diego Carlos is likely to leave the club amid £25million transfer news.
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