Aston Villa join race to sign in-demand defender amid Pau Torres exit links
Aston Villa are the latest side to join the transfer race for sought-after defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Unai Emery has his team flying high this season and seemingly in the thick of a title race at the turn of the year, although Aston Villa’s 4-1 loss to leaders Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday night was a significant hiccup.
Now, the club are now gearing up for January attempts to back the Spaniard in the transfer market as they look to boost their chances of maintaining their threat through to the end of the season.
But they may have to land reinforcements just to retain their current strength with Pau Torres linked to a Barcelona move.
Aston Villa face Man United, Bournemouth for Tarik Muharemovic
Although Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace appears to be first choice over Torres for Barcelona sporting director Deco it looks like Aston Villa are ready to address the position anyway.
According to an update from Gazzetta di Modena the Villans are the latest club to enter the pursuit for Muharemovic at Sassuolo.
Both Bournemouth and Man United are also interested, with the latter reportedly sending representatives to watch the 22-year-old against Bologna at the weekend, where he scored in a 1-1 draw.
In addition, both Juventus and Inter are looking to get ahead of Premier League rivals, with the latter deemed to be most actively involved.
Inter are potentially aiming to factor Davide Frattesi into the mix to lower the cost for Bosnian Muharemovic, while Juventus could get him for half price due to holding a 50-percent resale clause from when he left them for Sassuolo ahead of last season.
The Italian sides may have to get moving on a move in January to avoid a bidding war breaking out in the summer, but it appears Villa, United and company are already on the case.
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What other moves could Aston Villa make?
If the finances are there then the heavy loss to title rivals Arsenal to round out 2025 could make Emery and the hierarchy more active in January.
The loss doesn’t need to derail the season since it was less than a month ago that Emi Buendia’s late winner beat the Gunners at Villa Park, but Emi Martinez‘s shaky performance at the Emirates could increase Villa interest in Marc-Andre ter Stegen at Barcelona.
It is possible that Leon Bailey could be brought back from Roma after struggling in the first half of the season, while in midfield there is long-term interest in Christos Mouzakitis.
Alysson is already incoming next month and answers need to be found for Harvey Elliott who has found himself in limbo since joining from Liverpool in the summer, while Villa are also thought to like Bologna striker Santiago Castro.
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