Yasin Ayari of Brighton during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Vitality Stadium , Bournemouth UK - 04 April 2023 - Credit Simon Dack Editorial use only. No merchandising. For Football images FA and Premier League restrictions apply inc. no internet/mobile usage without FAPL license - for details contact Football Dataco
With the summer transfer window well and truly back open, Aston Villa have a huge few weeks ahead.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League after defeat against Manchester United on the final day of the season, the West Midlands side find themselves in the Europa League.
That surely makes them less appealing to top players they are looking to sign, and also means they have less money, which could make it tough to turn the loan moves of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford into permanent deals. Spain international Asensio did not have a buy clause in his loan from Paris Saint-Germain, and it is unclear if he will come back.
Well, if it turns out that Asensio doesn’t re-sign for Villa, they seemingly have a replacement in mind.
Villa’s potential Asensio replacement
It would certainly be a huge blow for Villa if they were to lose Asensio, who had a great impact and brought lots of technical quality in attacking areas to their squad. However, they seem to be targeting a fellow Spaniard to replace him.
According to a newspaper in Spain, via Caught Offside, Unai Emery and his side are seemingly targeting a move for Real Betis attacker Jesus Rodriguez. He reportedly has a release clause worth £30m in his current deal, but Betis are negotiating a new contract with the view of increasing the price of that release clause to around £43m.
