Aston Villa intensify talks for ‘quality’ star who Thomas Tuchel loves as injury problems mount
Unai Emery will not be happy with the growing list of injured players at Aston Villa.
The Spaniard watched on as Villa defeated Newcastle 2-0 on Sunday, breaking their torrid St. James’ Park curse in the process.
The victory has put the Villans just four points off from league leaders Arsenal, but Emery now has to navigate a potential injury crisis in one key area.
John McGinn has been ruled out for up to six weeks, as Youri Tielemans was forced to leave the field early against Newcastle after picking up a knock.
Boubacar Kamara is also set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury. However, Aston Villa could solve their season-threatening issue with the transfer of AC Milan’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Aston Villa want to find Ruben Loftus-Cheek solution soon
Villa have been credited with interest in Loftus-Cheek, with the experienced midfielder emerging as an option for Emery to sign this window.
The Villans have seen most of their success through the dominance in the middle of the park, but injuries could derail their momentum in this particular area.
Thankfully, Loftus-Cheek has Premier League experience and could be available for cheap this window.
- Loftus-Cheek has made 12 appearances from the bench in Serie A this season
- He has played 11 times for England
- The Englishman featured plenty of times for Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel
As per the Daily Mail on Monday, Villa are continuing talks with AC Milan this week to try and find an agreement for Loftus-Cheek.
A delegation from the Villans reportedly met up with AC Milan representatives last week in attempts to strike a loan-to-buy transfer for the Englishman.
Milan are said to be seeking a permanent sale, as discussions continue over the structure of the deal.
There’s a good possibility that the 30-year-old could come to B6 in the coming days and reunite with his former Chelsea team-mate, Tammy Abraham.
- Read more: ‘It’s madness’ – Micah Richards can’t believe what Aston Villa star did in win vs Newcastle
What has Thomas Tuchel said about Loftus-Cheek?
The only thing that has prevented Loftus-Cheek from hitting great heights in his career is injuries.
This is what may concern supporters, given that the former Fulham star is supposed to be a stopgap for Villa’s current injury crisis.
But Loftus-Cheek could be worth every penny of the gamble, as his former Chelsea and now England boss, Thomas Tuchel, was always fond of the versatile playmaker.
Tuchel said in 2022, as quoted by TNT Sports: “I’m very happy with him [Loftus-Cheek] at the moment. I think he’s been hiding his talent and his potential for a long time in his career.
“He’s capable of producing performances that everybody sees on the pitch, but he’s also capable of producing performances that hide all of his quality.”
Loftus-Cheek gained plenty of starts under Tuchel over time, and he could be next up to star for Emery in the Premier League.
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