Emery in dreamland with Aston Villa to beat Inter to stunning Atletico coup
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
An Atletico Madrid regular is ‘close’ to joining Aston Villa in a stunning free agent coup and a report has detailed three reasons why Unai Emery’s side will sink Inter Milan in the race.
Aston Villa have taken giant strides forward under Unai Emery, both on and off the field. Villa are currently on course to qualify for the Champions League. If they can overcome a two-goal deficit against Olympiacos on Thursday, a European final will also await.
Off the field Villa have invested both heavily and wisely in new recruits. The club smashed their transfer record when paying £51.9m to sign Moussa Diaby last summer. The French winger has notched 18 goal contributions in an encouraging first season at Villa Park.
Elsewhere, established stars such as Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans were drafted in. Villa also splashed out just an initial £8m to sign Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough in January and that deal already has the hallmarks of being a masterstroke.
Villa are clearly a club trending in the right direction and according to Spanish outlet AS, they’re about to make headlines in the transfer market once again.
Firstly, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently confirmed defender Mario Hermoso will leave Atletico Madrid as a free agent this summer.
Taking to X, Romano wrote: “Atletico Madrid decision is confirmed: Mario Hermoso will not sign new deal and he’s set to leave the club as free agent.
“Plans are not changing. Hermoso, exploring several opportunities as he’s not agreed terms with any club yet.”
But according to a fresh update from Spanish outlet AS, Hermoso’s future lays at Villa Park.
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Hermoso to Villa edges closer
They stated ‘the defender is close to being a new Aston Villa player’ and Emery’s side are primed to fend off stiff competition from Italian giant Inter Milan for the Spaniard’s signature.
Hermoso, 28, has been a regular starter for manager Diego Simeone this term, with only Axel Witsel (3,909) and Antoine Griezmann (3,573) racking up more minutes as outfield players than Hermoso (3,511).
Hermoso is a centre-half by trade, though the left-footer can also occupy the left-back position if required.
Atletico are resigned to losing the five-cap Spain international to free agency and per AS, it’s Aston Villa who are poised to win the race.
Three reasons behind impending coup
Explaining why, three reasons were cited. Firstly, joining the Spanish contingent at Villa Park is said to appeal to Hermoso.
Villa’s manager (Emery), president of football operations (Monchi) and two of their defensive options (Pau Torres, Alex Moreno) are all Spanish.
Furthermore, Villa’s rise and expected presence in the Champions League next year has reportedly caught Hermoso’s eye.
Finally, AS hinted the ‘economic aspect’ of signing with Villa would be more fruitful for Hermoso.
The inference there is the Premier League side would be able to offer higher wages than Inter and any other interested parties from mainland Europe.
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