You’ve heard of ‘trickle down economics’. Now how about ‘trickle down’ transfers. A chain of events kick-started by Bayern Munich, continued by Aston Villa and all the way down to the English Football League.
Recently-relegated Southampton, according to talkSPORT and The Athletic, are facing an uphill battle convincing Armel Bella-Kotchap to commit his immediate future to a club who finished rock bottom of the Premier League last term.
Bella-Kotchap, talkSPORT add, is ‘pushing’ for an exit.
He has the 2024 European Championships on home soil to think about, after all. Bella-Kotchap will be under no illusions that his hopes of featuring for Hansi Flick’s Germany will go up quicker than a pile of petrol-covered haystacks if he is forced to spend the next 11 months travelling from Bristol to Plymouth Middlesbrough.
And Aston Villa are reportedly willing to offer the now-£30 million-rated Bella-Kotchap the chance to build upon what was – from an individual perspective at least – a largely successful Premier League campaign in 2022/23.
“He has hit the ground running,” Southampton legend Francis Benali tells Hampshire Live; the bargain £9 million signing from VFL Bochum a rare glint of sunlight piercing through a dark South Coast sky.
“He’s been outstanding. He’s just shown a calmness, almost like confidence way beyond his years. The performances that he has put in have just been first class.”
Aston Villa move should appeal to Armel Bella-Kotchap
Reports coming out of Bella-Kotchap’s homeland, meanwhile, suggest that Southampton’s hopes of retaining the 21-year-old may be about to get that little bit slimmer. Bayern Munich, per Sport1, have entered talks with Pau Torres shortly after Aston Villa submitted an ‘official offer’ to reunite the £40 million-rated Spain international with his former Villarreal boss Unai Emery.
Missing out on Torres – Bayern remain a bigger draw with Champions League football and silverware on offer at the Allianz Arena – only raises the prospect of Aston Villa turning their focus to St Mary’s instead in pursuit of a new centre-half.
And Bella-Kotchap’s vast potential, relative affordability, and his proven track record in the Premier League – not to mention his ability to play in both left and right-sided roles – are all compelling reasons for Villa to immediately install him as their number one target should Pau Torres decide that the allure of Bayern is impossible to ignore.
The post Bayern Munich entering talks for £40m man is bad news for Southampton appeared first on HITC.
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