Aston Villa are enjoying a superb season under Unai Emery, with a top-four finish in the Premier League very much up for grabs.
The Villans are also in the Europa Conference League semi-finals, though they must overturn a 4-2 deficit to Olympiacos in the second leg in Greece.
Despite that setback, it has been a great season for Villa, and fans will be eager to see how they kick on next term.
The Villans have struck gold in the transfer market over the past few windows and will be eager to do more of the same in the upcoming window.
Now, GiveMeSport has provided an update involving Villa and one of their top midfield targets.
The report claims Emery has instructed his scouts to keep watching Villarreal’s Alex Baena ahead of a potential summer swoop.
A switch to the Midlands is a serious possibility for the 22-year-old as he has been deemed a good fit for the Emery project, added the report.
GiveMeSport go on to say that Villa have been monitoring Baena – who Emery previously worked with at Villarreal – for more than a year.
The Spaniard, who reportedly has a £50million price tag, has been deemed the perfect replacement for Nicolo Zaniolo, whose loan from Galatasaray is coming to an end.
Who is Aston Villa target Alex Baena?
Baena is an attacking midfielder who can also play on both flanks, and has made a real name for himself at Villarreal.
He has 16 assists and five goals in all competitions for the Yellow Submarine this term, and 19 goals and 28 assists overall for the club.
Baena has also won two caps for Spain, scoring on his debut against Cyprus in September last year.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout previously described Baena as ‘one of the biggest revelations in Europe‘ and likened him to Philippe Coutinho.
All in all, he looks like a great shout for Villa, so let’s hope the B6 outfit intensifies their pursuit of him in the coming months.
