Aston Villa are reportedly ready to table a lucrative €20 million bid to prise Vedat Muriqi away from RCD Mallorca in the January transfer window.
Vedat Muriqi is a January transfer window target for Aston Villa as new boss Unai Emery looks to strengthen in attack this winter. That is according to a report by Fichajes, which claims the Premier League outfit are lining up a €20 million bid for the Kosovan striker after his impressive performances in La Liga so far this season.
Formerly a prolific goal-getter at Fenerbahce, Muriqi only joined Mallorca on a permanent deal last summer after spending the second half of the 2021/22 campaign on loan with The Pirates, where he scored five goals and assisted three times in 16 La Liga outings across all competitions to steer the club away from the relegation zone, making him an instant hit among the Spanish minnows’ support.
This prompted a usually spend-thrift Mallorca to splash the cash and sign Muriqi in a club-record €7 million deal from Lazio, where he endured a torrid time.
After securing a contract with the Spanish club, his form has only elevated, amassing eight goals and one assist in just 12 outings this season. Muriqi has found the back of the net in each of his last five games, guiding Mallorca to a comfortable mid-table position in La Liga heading into the international break.
Muriqi’s dominating displays have not gone unnoticed in the footballing world and have garnered interest from more prominent clubs, with Aston Villa being touted to hold interest in signing him. In fact, the Villans are even prepared to offer €20 million when the transfer window re-opens in January.
It is easy to understand why ASton Villa would want to bring Muriqi to the Premier League, especially taking into account that he is utterly dominating in the air, and would bring a different dynamic to Emery’s attack.
With Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins only scoring seven goals between them in 14 league appearances each so far this term, perhaps adding a brick wall centre-forward like Muriqi could be just what Aston Villa need to be more consistent and clinical in front of goal as he can create space with his imposing style of play.
That said, Muriqi seems to be a step down from other targets like Tammy Abraham, Arnaut Danjuma, and Nicolas Jackson, who have all emerged on the Birmingham outfit’s rumour mill in recent weeks.
With the player crucial to Mallorca’s survival bid and possessing a contract until 2027, Mallorca are not keen to lose the 28-year-old strriker and have pointed to the €40 million release clause present in his contract. It will be interesting to see if Aston Villa can force this move through, but it is clear that Emery is looking to change things after Villa’s slightly underwhelming first half of the season.
