Aston Villa Rodriguez signing ‘to help Manchester United seal £40m deal’
Aston Villa are among the clubs circling to sign Real Betis winger Jesus Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, 19, has played 21 La Liga games for Betis, who are managed by former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini.
The left winger has only managed four goal contributions this season, but has caught the eye of many teams in Europe with his pace and dribbling.
If Villa do approach the Spaniard, a potential deal could trigger a huge knock-on effect for their Premier League rivals.
Aston Villa move would impact Manchester United
On the final day of the 2024/25 season, Villa and Emiliano Martinez presented a gift to Manchester United, who won their first Premier League game in ten.
Aston Villa could again help Man United, who could look to offload one of their biggest flops in recent years.
In September 2022, United signed Antony for £80million from Ajax.
The Brazilian has gone on to struggle in England, but has impressed on loan at Betis in the second half of last season.
Antony went on to register seven goal contributions in Spain and helped his team to the Europa Conference League final.
Los Verdiblancos are reportedly keen to resign Antony, but could struggle to afford the winger, who United value at around £40million [Mirror].
However, if Real Betis offload Rodriguez, the deal could raise funds for the Spaniards to sign Antony on a permanent transfer.
Reports have claimed that Rodriguez has a release clause of £29million in his contract.
German side RB Leipzig have already had a £16million bid rejected for the Spaniard, and Villa are also joined by rivals Liverpool and Man United in the hunt for the youngster.
Aston Villa should avoid signing Rodriguez
Villa must stop helping out their Premier League rivals.
In January, Emery’s side helped Man United offload Marcus Rashford, and now they could help the Red Devils get rid of one of their flop signings.
Although Rashford performed for Villa, his loan helped United save on his wages, and his input had little bearing on where they finished in the league.
With profit and sustainability rules affecting Emery’s side, they can’t afford to spend big money on a largely unproven winger whose sale could help out their rivals.