Aston Villa are reportedly weighing up the possibility of tabling a bid worth €20 million for Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi in the upcoming January transfer window.
According to Italian publication Calciomercato, Aston Villa are willing to step up their pursuit of Mallorca target man Vedat Muriqi. The Villans are lining up their first move worth €20 million to try and sign the Kosovo talisman when the transfer market reopens in January.
Muriqi used to be a sought-after goal machine at Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce before Lazio snapped him from the Super Lig in the summer of 2020 for a hefty pay-check worth €20 million. Then followed an incredibly disappointing two-year spell at the club, with the Kosovo frontman failing to live up to the billing.
The striker joined the then-relegation-threatened Mallorca on a six-month loan in the 2021 winter transfer window with a mission to help La Liga minnows in the final stretch of the season. His rich vein of goal-scoring form played a decisive part in the club managing to stave off relegation. Indeed, he instantly became a huge fan favourite and pushed for a permanent move the following summer.
Lazio also decided to offload him off their wage bill and sold the Kosovan striker to the Spanish outfit this past summer for around €7 million. That might be a small amount in the transfer market these days, but for a club of Mallorca’s stature, it is a deal of the century as they broke their transfer record to get their man on a lengthy six-year deal.
And it is safe to say Muriqi has proven his worth every penny, firing eight goals from 12 La Liga outings this season, and more often than not single-handedly carrying his side’s attacking theat. This has propelled the Spanish minnows to the dizzying heights of 11th in the league table.
It seems his exploits are not going unnoticed on English shores, with Aston Villa lining up a hefty €20 million offer to acquire his services this January. After leaving Villarreal to return to the Premier League last month, new manager Unai Emery is nearing his first transfer window in charge at Villa Park and looks set to dive into the Spanish market for key additions to bolster his squad.
Going by Aston Villa’s recent links with Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson and Arnaut Danjuma, it appears the former Arsenal boss is keen to add even more firepower to his frontline despite having the likes of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings at his disposal.
In Muriqi, Aston Villa can get themselves a solid striker. He has an aggressive, swashbuckling style of play and is a physical nuisance in the opposition box thanks to his aerial prowess. He is, however, more than simply a goal scorer and offers a lot in the buildup with his excellent hold-up play and sharp turns.
There is also hardly a better header of a ball in Europe than him, ranking in the top 4% of forwards for aerial duels won. At 28 years old, Muriqi is in the prime years of his career and could make an instant impact to help Villa push into the top half of the table.
It would be interesting to see whether Mallorca will sanction the exit of their talismanic striker in January, as it would be a catastrophic blow for their survival prospects down the line. But Aston Villa could soon come up with a €20 million bid.
