Aston Villa are keen on Real Sociedad midfield duo Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, and incoming director Mateu Alemany will be crucial to negotiations.
According to AS via Sport Witness, Aston Villa could raid Real Sociedad for midfield duo Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi. The awaited arrival of Mateu Alemany as the new club technical director could aid those transfers, with Unai Emery keen on those stars.
Aston Villa continues to take progressive strides toward tightening the club and its squad. The revolution seemingly began with the appointment of Unai Emery after the sacking of Steven Gerrard. The move has kickstarted a mini resurgence, with the club somewhat closer to European qualification.
Irrespective of whether they play continental football next season, the club are ready to move forward with their plans. They are expected to spend significantly to bolster their squad, Villa have also made an important addition with the potential appointment of Barcelona director Mateu Alemany.
Reports have claimed many top-level players could feature on their list of potential targets. Those include Dusan Vlahovic, Ferran Torres, and Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha, which tends to show their level of ideas for the next window.
Villa have lofty ambitions, and they want to use Alemany’s influence to sign Real Sociedad midfield duo Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino. The La Liga stars have had a fabulous season and become the subject of interest elsewhere.
Villa are already well-stacked in the midfield department, but the Spanish midfield duo will elevate their levels. That much depth would help if Villa does make it to Europe, but it will come as a big statement of intent from Emery’s side.
Incidentally, Zubimendi was a big target for Barcelona for quite some time. However, the financial aspects of concluding any deal are not considered ideal for the Catalans, who have since bowed out of the race altogether. Alemany was the key to identifying the midfielder, and he could now continue that at his new club.
Zubimendi has other suitors, with Arsenal, one of the clubs keeping constant tabs on the midfielder ahead of the summer. However, if the Gunners succeed in signing primary targets Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo. It may pave the path for Aston Villa to move, with a €60 million release clause needed to sign the Spaniard.
Meanwhile, Merino also has high-profile suitors, with Liverpool as one of the clubs previously linked. However, in recent times, the stories have cooled before these links to Aston Villa emerged. In truth, Villa will feel positive about signing one rather than both. Ideally, they might go for Zubimendi for the position he plays, as for Merino, there are several existing options.
