Aston Villa have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Barcelona midfielder Nico Gonzalez this summer, with the 21-year-old La Masia graduate not featuring in Xavi’s plans for next season.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Aston Villa are one of the two Premier League clubs offered the chance to bring Barcelona playmaker Nico Gonzalez to Villa Park in the ongoing summer transfer window.
The Spanish central midfielder came through Barca’s La Masia academy and has made 37 senior appearances for the club, scoring two goals and providing two assists.
Gonzalez spent the 2022–23 campaign out on loan at Valencia but endured an injury-riddled season. Even then, he did show flashes of his quality and generally impressed in his 26 La Liga appearances, registering one goal and one assist.
The Spaniard has now returned to the Blaugrana, and Xavi is expected to make a call on Nico’s role and future over the course of pre-season. However, it appears the Spanish midfielder will be shipped out yet again as there’s no space in Xavi’s squad thanks to the arrival of Ilkay Gundogan and the impending signing of Oriol Romeu.
As such, there are a host of clubs interested in securing his services. FC Porto are one of the clubs keen on signing Gonzalez, while clubs in Spain and England are also keen. In La Liga, clubs such as Real Betis, Valencia, and Villarreal are keeping close tabs on the young midfielder.
Now, Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Nico’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has even offered his services to Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Wolves.
Villa, for one, are really backing Unai Emery this summer. Of course, the Lions have been busy. They have brought high-profile Spanish international defender Pau Torres from Villarreal for big money and also captured Youri Tielemans on a Bosman transfer. They are also in talks to secure the services of Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, which would be another exciting signing for Villa fans.
It’s no wonder that they are being linked with a top talent in Gonzalez, who has bags of potential and the tools to become a top-class midfielder over time.
That being said, Villa themselves are not exactly short on midfielders at the moment, having added the aforementioned Tielemans to their ranks this summer. Unai Emery has a host of very capable options, including the likes of John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, and Douglas Luiz.
Villa also have Morgan Sanson, Leander Dendoncker, and Marvelous Nakamba, although it is thought that all three players will be up for sale this summer. The plethora of existing midfield options makes it highly unlikely that they will make a move for another player in the same position. Also, it’s still unclear whether Barcelona would be open to selling the 21-year-old permanently.
