Aston Villa close to signing ‘elite talent’

Aston Villa they are enjoying a solid transfer window so far. Jadon Philogene traveled to Ipswich Town, raising £20m in the process.

On the other hand, it seems that Diego Carlos will leave Villa, moving to Fenerbahçe for a short time compensation in the region of 11 million euros (£9.3m) after two and a half years in the Midlands.

Donyell Malen was the only addition so far, but it could Unai Emery be close to signing number two?

Aston Villa are closing in on another signing

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, The villa is currently in the negotiation phase to sign Sevilla defender Loic Bade, and are ready to finalize a £30m switch.

Moving on Philogene and now Carlos has given Emery the means to make further signings to strengthen his squad ahead of a crucial few months.

Liverpool, Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion were all interested in bringing Bade to the Premier League, but Villa appear to have won the race to sign the centre-back.

Despite securing the services of Malen this month, could the signing of Bade be more important to Villa and what they hope to achieve this season?

Why Loic Bade could be a better signing than Donyell Malen

In Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers, alongside a supporting cast of Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey, Emery has plenty of attacking players who can make a difference in the final third.

This does not mean that Malen will not offer much, because he has proven to be a good player, especially in the Champions League, scored twice and registered an assist for Borussia Dortmund this term.

Given the amount of talent the manager has at his disposal in an attacking sense, Malen’s arrival could fly under the radar.

It was clear, however, that bringing in another defender was imperative this window. With Carlos it almost disappeared and Pau Torres absent for several monthsEmery is on the verge of a defensive crisis. Bade, therefore, is the answer.

The talent of the former Forest defender was recognized as early as 2021 when he praised talent hunter Jacek Kuligwho said: “He is so good, mature and complete. He will be a world-class defender in the future. I have no doubt about it. Elite talent.”

Compared to his positional colleagues in La Liga this season, Bade currently is in the top 2% for tackles (2.17) and touches in the defensive third (44.38), top 1% for successful takeovers (0.59) and top 5% for turnovers (4.79) per 90.

This is an impressive range of stats, especially in one of the toughest leagues in Europe, suggesting that Bade will be a great addition to Villa’s squad should the deal go through.

His signing will therefore be of far greater importance to Emery than Malenov, especially given the depth of talent in the defensive and attacking areas of the first-team squad.