Aston Villa are reportedly keen on signing a ‘phenomenal’ midfielder who Unai Emery signed during his time at Villarreal.
Aston Villa are in a prominent position in the transfer window after qualifying for the 2024/25 Champions League.
Unai Emery’s side have been linked to some top talents so far such as Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher and French defender Jean-Clair Todibo.
The only problem holding Monchi and Emery back in the market is their PSR concerns as Villa may need to sell some of their talent to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
PSR isn’t stopping the Villans from pursuing their targets, though, and one of those is someone who played under the Spaniard at Villarreal.
Aston Villa are interested in Tottenham midfielder Giovanni Lo Celso
Giovanni Lo Celso was adored by Jose Mourinho during his time as manager of Tottenham, with the special one describing him as a “phenomenal” player.
The Argentine initially joined on loan from Real Betis in the summer of 2019, and Mourinho facilitated a deal to sign him permanently for £27 million in the following January.
This looked like a smart piece of business at the time however, the 28-year-old only started four times in the Premier League last term and spent the previous two campaigns on loan at Villarreal.
Emery managed Lo Celso at the Spanish giants and according to The Sun, could reunite with the World Cup winner this summer as Villa eye a move alongside several other clubs.
With the diminutive playmaker entering the final year of his contract, Emery could sign him on a cut-price deal and resurrect his career at Villa Park.
Where Giovanni Lo Celso would fit in at Aston Villa
Lo Celso’s best position is playing as a number 10, deployed just in behind a lone striker.
The playmaker has seen his opportunities get restricted by injury during his five-year stay at Spurs and whilst he’s only appeared 108 times for the Lillywhites, Ange Postecoglu still rates him highly, labelling him “fantastic”.
“Look, he’s a fantastic player, but with all these things you’ve got to keep the perspective that we’re at a big club, we’re going to have a big squad and if it is not Gio, it will be someone else that will play that role next year,” Postecoglu said when asked about Lo Celso.
Villa play a system with two deep-lying central midfielders and one playing advanced, almost like a second striker in behind Ollie Watkins.
The Englishman had various partners throughout the campaign, with Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran all playing that position at some point.
Out of all the names listed, though, Lo Celso is the most natural playmaker, who is diminutive in possession and excellent at creating chances through the thirds.
The 50-cap Argentine has excelled as a creative machine when given the chance, and although he’s only played 506 minutes in the past year, he still ranks high across various metrics.
As highlighted by FBref, he places in the top 1% of attacking midfielders across Europe for non-penalty goals, progressive passes, progressive carries and assists, evincing his quality.
The sample size may be small but Lo Celso is clearly very talented, and a move to Villa this summer could see him resurrect his career and become an important asset to Emery.
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