Aston Villa are now stepping up their interest in the January transfer of Villarreal star Alex Baena to fend off rival interest from Premier League clubs Arsenal and Liverpool.
That is according to 90min, which reports that Aston Villa are moving to position themselves at the front of the queue to land Baena. Unai Emery is eager to reunite with the 22-year-old next month after working with the midfielder at Villarreal prior to taking charge at Villa Park.
Emery gave Baena his debuts in the Europa League and the Conference League whilst at the Estadio de la Ceramica. They even won the 2020/21 Europa League together. But Baena has continued to hit new heights since Emery’s departure, including making his debut for Spain.
Unai Emery told Aston Villa to scout Alex Baena after arriving from Villarreal
Baena left a huge impression on Emery following his breakthrough at Villarreal, so the coach told Aston Villa to watch his progress. His performances since have blown the Villans’ scouts away, too. So, the claret-and-blue club are now weighing up when to make their first swoop.
Aston Villa are open to signing Baena in January but could hold off until the summer transfer window. Yet any delay may risk the Villans missing out as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have also scouted him. The Premier League giants have taken a look over the past year.
Villarreal will demand any interested teams pay Alex Baena’s release clause
90min also notes that Baena has become a more prominent target for Aston Villa after Nico Williams agreed to a new contract with Athletic Bilbao. But Villarreal will tell any team keen on his transfer to pay the £51m release clause in the contract Baena signed back in January.
Baena recording his senior Spain debut in September will have only increased his value for El Submarino Amarillo. Not that he would have been cheap in the summer after scoring 12 and assisting six goals in 48 games. The versatile forward also helped to beat Real Madrid twice.
Quique Setien also sang Baena’s praises after Villarreal beat Real Madrid 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu in April. The left-sided midfielder, who can also feature through the middle of the engine room, offered up the assist for Samuel Chukwueze’s 80th-minute winner on the road.
“Alex is a very talented player and he showed it at the Bernabeu,” Setien detailed, via quotes by Managing Madrid, back in April. “He was involved in two of our goals and he created a lot of problems for Real Madrid. He is still young and he has a lot of room for improvement.”
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