Aston Villa ‘crazy’ as deal eyed for player lauded by Thierry Henry
Unai Emery wants one or two more signings for his Aston Villa side before the 2 February deadline.
Emery‘s focus this weekend will be on Aston Villa’s trip to Newcastle this Sunday, which will looks set to be a great game of football.
All the while, Villa Park chiefs will continue to be working behind the scenes in order to hopefully finalise some last pieces of transfer business this winter.
So far, Brian Madjo’s signing from Metz alongside the arrival of Alysson from Gremio remain Aston Villa‘s only two incomings of the month, in what has been a quite window in the West Midlands up to now.
Aston Villa ‘crazy’ for Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie
Villa seem keen to sign a versatile and creative midfield player before the window shuts, with Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz linked with a move to Villa Park.
Emery is running short for options in the midfield department, with injuries to Ross Barkley, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara respectively.
Therefore, the presence of another quality operator in the engine room could be a massive help for Villa, and enable them to have a better chance of keeping their Premier League title chances alive.
It was reported in March 2023 that Emery was “crazy” about signing Weston McKennie, who at the time was on loan at Leeds United from Juventus.
And now it appears as though his feelings on the American international haven’t changed one bit, as Tutto Juve claim that Emery is once again “crazy” about brining him to Villa Park this winter.
It’s suggested that Atletico Madrid as well as other Italian sides are also interested, with Juventus now desperate to tie him down to a new contract.
McKennie‘s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, meaning this winter is Juve’s last chance to bag a transfer fee for him before risking losing him on a free.
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Thierry Henry has been big fan of McKennie’s
Having built a reputation as a leading USMNT pundit, Thierry Henry is very familiar with McKennie’s game.
McKennie has been a divisive player throughout his career, with some believing that he’s consistently fallen short of his potential, whilst others believe he’s simply taken time to grow into a more mature and well-rounded midfielder.
His time on loan with Leeds in 2022-23 didn’t work out, and as such, many on these shores won’t be overly taken by the news of a possible return to English football for him.
Henry, however, has sung McKennie’s praises in the past, and as quoted from a CBS Sports interview by Instagram page USMNT ONLY, had plenty of good words to say about him in October 2024.
“For me, the big change for McKennie, we all know he played as a wing-back last year (2023-24), now he’s a starter for Juve where he likes to play in the middle of the park,” Henry said.
“He’s often at the end of movements, and you have to give him a lot of credit because at times, he got under a lot of pressure for the way he behaves and whatnot. But now he’s on point, and playing for Juve all the time.”
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