Aston Villa will have to trigger a €50 million release clause to sign Moroccan World Cup star Yassine Bounou from Sevilla in January.
According to Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo, Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is a target for Aston Villa, with new boss Unai Emery pushing to sign the Moroccan international. Relegation-threatened Sevilla do not want to lose the experienced number one and will point to his €50 million release clause that must be met by any interested party to acquire his services.
Yassine Bounou, nicknamed “Bono,” has plied his trade in Spain for the majority of his club football career. And he has been Sevilla’s starting goalkeeper for the past three seasons. The 31-year-old first joined on loan from Girona in 2019 before signing permanently the following year.
He clearly had a positive impact and played a pivotal role in the UEFA Europa League triumph in 2019/20, while Sevilla finished fourth in La Liga. They followed that up with another fourth-place finish, with the 31-year-old starting nearly every game he was available for.
Bono enjoyed another top-notch season, keeping 13 clean sheets in La Liga. Furthermore, in the games that he featured, Sevilla conceded just 24 times as he pipped Thibaut Courtois to win the Zamora trophy. While this season has not gone to plan for Sevilla, Bono has been their best player by some distance.
He has also firmly established himself as Morocco’s number one goalkeeper in recent years and is currently at the World Cup, with the Atlas Lions impressing so far in Qatar. While Bono has been a quality goalkeeper for some time and will provide quality depth, it is difficult to see Aston Villa break the bank and splash €50 million for a backup goalkeeper when there are clearly so many areas across the pitch that need investment and addressing first.
That is because of the ever-present figure of Emiliano Martinez in between the sticks for Aston Villa over the past few seasons. The Argentine has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the entire division. Bono has had seven years of regular first-team football, so you would think he would not wish to come to England and serve as a backup to Martinez.
So, putting another goalkeeper against him at Aston Villa would be pointless, regardless of how brilliant he is. Given Martinez is under contract at the club until 2027, it appears Villa’s hierarchy has trust in him. It needs to be seen whether this is still the case under new boss Unai Emery. Hence the interest in Bono might not be unfounded.
Football Insider has recently reported that Martinez had a rocky relationship with Emery during their time together at Arsenal. And there are concerns that it may resurface at Villa Park and jeopardise Martinez’s long-term future at the club, with Tottenham Hotspur waiting in the wings to pounce on the situation.
Still, replacing Martinez by spending €50 million on a 31-year-old does not seem like a smart idea, even though the Moroccan star might be very experienced and one of the best keepers in La Liga. After all, Martinez is an Argentina international and is starring for La Albiceleste at the ongoing World Cup in Qatar.
