Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are keen on acquiring the services of Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos.
After an impressive first half of the season, Unai Emery now wants to further bolster his squad in the winter transfer window. The Spanish manager is keen on adding more quality to his midfield, and he has his eyes set on Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos.
According to a report from Fichajes, the Villa boss has asked the club to sign the Spanish midfielder, who hasn’t had enough game time at the La Liga club and is considering parting ways with them.
After a two-year-long loan spell at Arsenal, Ceballos returned to Real Madrid in the summer of 2021. While he has shown a lot of promise in the limited game time he has had over the years, the former Real Betis star has failed to establish himself as a prominent figure in the team.
While he was hoping to have regular minutes under Xabi Alonso, even that hasn’t gone according to plan. In his 17 outings across competitions, he has racked up fewer than 700 minutes of first-team action.
Aston Villa are plotting a raid on Real Madrid
With his contract running until 2027, Real Madrid are still believed to be in the driving seat regarding his future. However, it seems Aston Villa are looking to make the most out of his current situation. They are aware that he seeks regular game time and are willing to hand him a prominent role under a manager who has worked with him in the past.
Unai Emery worked with him at Arsenal back in the day, and he believes the 29-year-old could do wonders for his team. While they have missed out on Conor Gallagher and Ceballos has a different profile to the Chelsea graduate, the Spanish manager is convinced Ceballos’ ability to control the tempo of games could help them in big games.
He has already showcased that he can succeed in the English top flight. As a result, Villa are ready to make an investment in him upon Emery’s request. While they can certainly tempt the player with an important role, striking a deal with Real Madrid won’t be that straightforward.
He might not be a regular starter for them, but Ceballos is a very important squad member, and Los Blancos wouldn’t want to weaken their team mid-season, given the kind of situation they find themselves in.
