Aston Villa have been one of the busier Premier League clubs with regards to transfer activity over the past couple of weeks.
The Villans have qualified for the Champions League next season, which means they need to bolster their ranks to cope with the additional workload.
At the same time, Villa are likely to move some players on, either because of profit and sustainability rules or simply to offload those surplus to requirements.
Over the past week, speculation has been doing the rounds regarding a cash-plus-player deal involving Douglas Luiz with Juventus.
Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior were tipped to go in the other direction, but it looks as though one of those players may no longer come.
Fabrizio Romano has now provided an update on the state of play, naming several players who could potentially take McKennie’s place.
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Aston Villa could land Enzo Barrenechea as Weston McKennie alternative
Romano, taking to X, has claimed that Villa and Juve are still working on the Luiz swap deal in order to find a solution.
The transfer insider said McKennie could potentially be out of the swap deal, and Enzo Barrechea has been discussed as an alternative.
Dean Huijsen is also “appreciated”, but he’s also “expensive” for the purposes of the deal, and Moise Kean is not an option for Villa, added Romano.
Who is Aston Villa target Barrenechea?
Enzo Barrenechea is an Argentine footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder, and is on the books at Juventus.
The 23-year-old spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at fellow Serie A side Frosinone, registering 39 appearances, of which 36 were in the league.
Barrenechea began his career at Newell’s Old Boys, Lionel Messi’s former club. He then moved to Swiss outfit Sion in 2019 before joining Juve’s academy a year later.
Former Juventus U19 coach Andrea Bonatti told Tuttomercatoweb earlier this year that Barrenechea is a “really strong” player.
“He has an aerial game, knowledge, covers the pitch well, has great technique, dominance under pressure, play more vertically and now he is much more complete,” added Bonatti.