Why Aston Villa would get 'complete' player in Ilaix Moriba as transfer push intensifies
Aston Villa target Ilaix Moriba is an "intense", do-it-all midfielder, Villa News has exclusively been told.
Despite already bringing in Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes, Unai Emery seems to want more fresh blood in his midfield engine room.
Indeed, with Amadou Onana sidelined long-term and Boubacar Kamara still building up his fitness, Villa are fairly light for options in the middle of the park.
Moriba has been widely linked with a move to Villa Park this summer, and is fresh off the back of playing 48 times in all competitions for Celta Vigo last season, as well as providing two goals and four assists.
The 23-year-old is very highly thought of in Spain, and as a graduate of Barcelona's fabled academy system, his talent and potential has never been questioned.
But, if he was to make a switch to the West Midlands this summer, what sort of player would Aston Villa be adding to their midfield, and is he different to what they've already got?
Why Ilaix Moriba would be a ball of clay for Unai Emery and Aston Villa
Villa News has been covering reports that Aston Villa are willing to spend £15million to sign Moriba from Celta Vigo.
Alan Nixon reporting via his Patreon last weekend has claimed that Moriba isn't pushing for the move due to fears he'd play a squad role at Villa Park, whilst Vigo are also claimed to have rejected Villa's initial approach.
So, it would seem that Emery and Villains chiefs may have some convincing to do on multiple levels if they are to secure the midfielder's signature this summer.
But if they can, Radio Marca Vigo presenter and Celta match commentator Alex Rodriguez Silva-Fernandez has exclusively told Villa News that Moriba would bring huge amounts of versatility and different traits to Emery's squad.
"He is a very complete player, in Celta he has played in different demarcations in the pitch," he said.
"(Claudio) Giraldez uses a 3-4-3 formation, and Moriba has played in the two different positions of the midfield; the more defensive one and the more offensive.
"In the first one he is a player focused on maintaining the order of the team and keep the balance between lines, he is a player who covers a lot of ground.
"In the second one, the more offensive, he is a player focused on the advance pressure over the rival team, he recovers loads of balls in the opponents half, he has a good outside the box shot and he is a really good playing backwards to the goal player.
"He is competitive, but a bit impulsive player, he is solidary and associative, and also really intense all over the 90 minutes."
Judging from this expert-level testimony, it sounds as though Moriba is the type of midfielder who covers every blade of grass, and impacts the game at both ends of the pitch.
But do his La Liga numbers back that notion up, or is he found wanting in some key underlying metrics?
Why Moriba has proven he's the player Silva-Fernandez says he is
Footballers at the top level have never been so deeply analysed and had their underlying numbers poured over by scouts and recruitment chiefs as they are now.
Every metric you can think of is measured in some form, and so when looking for further evidence of Moriba's supposed athleticism and industry, it's not hard to find the answers.
As per FotMob, Moriba's 87 tackles won in La Liga last season ranked him in the top 1.4 percentile of all players in his position in Spain's top division.
Meanwhile, his 173 duels and 58 fouls won placed him in the leading seven and 4.9 per cent of his positional rivals.
In addition to those, Moriba's 924 successful passes, 68.6 per cent long ball accuracy, 152 defensive contributions and 101 recoveries all ranked amongst the top-performing La Liga central midfielders in 2025-26.
Clearly then, what has been foretold that he'd bring to Aston Villa is absolutely the case, and now it's up to the Villains to decide whether they push the boat out and go and convince him on a move to B6.