Aston Villa have been informed of the asking price for one rumoured summer target, as Unai Emery looks to strengthen his squad.
The summer transfer window will be critical for Aston Villa in their goal to continue their progression from the 2023/24 season.
Unai Emery led his side to a fourth-place finish in his first full season at Villa Park, despite having to contend with one of the worst injury records in the Premier League.
By the end of the first day of the season, Villa had lost two key players to ACL injuries, with a third coming in February on top of a host of other absences throughout the campaign.
Now Emery and Monchi have the chance to replenish the depth to ensure even greater successes next term, with one rumoured target now revealed to have a record-breaking asking price.
Aston Villa would have to pay a record transfer fee to sign Pedro Goncalves
In January, Villa were reported to hold interest in Sporting CP sensation Pedro Goncalves, who is still claimed to be on the Villans’ radar.
Fresh reports from Portuguese outlet O Jogo, suggest that both Villa and West Ham have been ‘monitoring’ the forward for some time, and could be set to battle Napoli for his signature this summer.
The narrative of the report is dominated by the price that Sporting will demand for Goncalves if they were to part ways with the 25-year-old, claiming that the Portuguese champions require his release clause to be met.
With a €80m (£68m) release clause in place, Villa would have to present a club-record fee to acquire the winger, something that could be difficult given the club’s PSR concerns.
Though the Villans may find themselves in a sell-to-buy situation this summer, spending big on Goncalves could be worthwhile based on his recent form in Portugal, seeing him earn the label of Bruno Fernandes’ heir at Sporting.
Can Pedro Goncalves be Aston Villa’s answer to Bruno Fernandes?
Once dubbed the ‘new Bruno Fernandes’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Goncalves has proven over the years that Sporting did not need to miss the playmaker after his move to Manchester United.
As well as being the Lions’ successor to the Premier League star, the versatile attacker poses some similarities to Fernandes’ game, being an avid architect and scorer of goals, contributing to 23 Liga Portugal goals in 2023/24.
Described as ‘incredible’ by Kulig, Villa must try their luck at acquiring a talent as impressive as Goncalves, who has had a hand in 49 of Sporting’s goals in Liga Portugal over the previous two seasons.
Interestingly, Villa are short on playmakers as Ollie Watkins is identified as Emery’s key creator, with the £68m target having the ability to now return the favour to the famed talisman.
Due to PSR concerns, the only way Villa could sanction a deal for Goncalves is to offload a player for a similar price, making for a fascinating summer ahead in the transfer window.
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