Aston Villa now look to receive Juventus youngster Enzo Barrenechea as part of a swap deal that will see Douglas Luiz depart the club.
With Aston Villa needing to sell one or two high-profile players in order to comply with the Premier League PSR deadline of 30th June, Douglas Luiz is one of the players expected to leave.
Villa value the Brazilian at around £50 million but need a swift sale given the upcoming deadline so are currently negotiating a deal involving cash plus players with Juventus.
The Italian giants cannot afford to pay the £50 million fee outright, so a deal that would see Luiz head to Turin and Weston McKennie, Samuel Iling-Junior and £16 million received by Villa in return has seemed the most likely outcome.
With McKennie’s wage demands stalling the deal, Villa have reportedly turned their attention to Enzo Barrenechea and here is all you need to know about the 23-year-old.
Enzo Barrenechea career so far
Barrenechea is an Argentinian national who came through the youth system at Newell’s Old Boys in his homeland; the same club that Lionel Messi started at.
His growing reputation in Argentina saw Swiss club Sion move to sign him as an 18-year-old in 2019 but after just seven appearances for their B team Juventus swooped to sign him just six months after he arrived in Europe.
Despite suffering an ACL injury in 2021, Barrenechea made his senior Juventus debut in November 2022 as he came off the bench for The Old Lady against PSG in the Champions League.
Towards the backend of the 2022/23 season, Barrenechea was promoted to the Juve first team permanently but it was decided last summer that he would be loaned out in order to aid his development.
That saw the holding midfielder sign for fellow Serie A side Frosinone on a season-long loan.
It was a fruitful move, as Barrenechea played 39 games in all competitions and impressed despite the club ultimately suffering relegation.
Perhaps surprisingly, the midfield pivot has not represented Argentina at youth level in any age group and he is also yet to play for the national side at senior level.
What they say about Enzo Barrenechea
Former Juventus under-19 coach Andrea Bonatti: “With me you’re breaking an open door, because Enzo is a really strong player.
“Characteristics? He is no different from Rodri or Busquets, he is a playmaker and can also play as a midfielder.
“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.”
Barrenechea’s first coach at Newell’s Old Boys: “And to think that a few years ago I said it was a mix between Nzonzi and Pogba and now he’s on the team with him…”.
Enzo Barrenechea player profile
- Full name: Enzo Alan Tomas Barrenechea
- Age: 23
- Height: 1.86m (6ft 1in)
- Nationality: Argentinian
- Date of birth: 22nd May 2001
- Place of birth: Villa Maria, Argentina
- Position: Defensive midfield
- Club: Juventus (Italy)
Enzo Barrenechea to Aston Villa analysis
A swap deal that saw McKennie arrive at Villa in place of Luiz did not appear to be the most inspired signing given his spell at Leeds United and the fact he is not a holding midfield player.
In Barrenechea, Unai Emery would be receiving a more like-for-like player for Luiz who has the potential to overtake the Brazilian in terms of influence at the Villa Park club.
According to FBREF, Barrenechea was in the top 24% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for passes attempted last season with 60.93 per 90 minutes and was in the 64th percentile for pass completion (85.3%).
For context, Luiz slightly outperformed Barrenechea in this regard, with 63.18 possesses attempted per game and a success rate of 85.7%.
However, defensively Barrenechea really comes to the fore, scoring in the top 22% for blocks (1.5 per 90), the top 14% for clearances (1.95 per 90) and top 17% for aerial duels won (1.63 per 90).
Luiz on the other hand does not perform particularly well amongst his peers in a defensive sense, with 0.96 blocks per 90 (bottom 27%), 0.54 clearances (bottom 8%) and 0.75 aerial duels won (bottom 44%).
Therefore, Barrenechea would provide a player who fell just short of Luiz’ passing stats whilst playing for a team that were relegated but could offer a better defensive screen in front of the backline in a Rodri-esque way.
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