Aston Villa make transfer offer for out-of-contract Atletico Madrid star - reports

Aston Villa have made an offer to Atletico Madrid defender Mario Hermoso, according to reports in Spain. 

It is reported by SER Deportivos that Hermoso has received an offer from the Premier League and that club is Villa. Monchi, who is Villa’s president of football operations is said to have wanted him when he was at Sevilla and now a move to Villa could be on the cards. 

As reports claim Villa have made a offer, they could have a battle on their hands with Barcelona. It is said by Fichajes that Hermoso is subject of interest from Xavi Hernandez and is making a push to sign him.

Hermoso is out-of-contract with Atletico Madrid in the summer and he could represent an astute bit of business. He is a left-sided centre-back that can also play at left-back and that would be of use to Unai Emery. 

The 28-year-old has spent his entire career in Spain and came through the academy system at Real Madrid. He has made 24 appearances in all competitions for Atleti this term with two goals and one assist. Hermoso started in all six of Madrid's Champions League games as they progressed with an unbeaten record.

Hermoso has been an Atletico Madrid player since 2019 after joining from Espanyol for a reported €25m. Atleti's rivals Real Madrid however received half of that, and given how important Hermoso is to Atleti, they will not want to give him up without a fight. He is a prominent member of their first-team and he played and scored in the 5-3 defeat to Real in the Spanish Supercopa earlier this month.

Since the appointment of Emery, a series of Spanish players have been persuaded to join his revolution. Hermoso is a five-time Spain international however he has not made an appearance for the national team since 2019. He has title-winning pedigree having lifted La Liga in 2021.

Villa currently have Pau Torres, Diego Carlos and Ezri Kona as their centre-back options whilst Clement Lenglet is on a season-long loan from Barcelona. Tyrone Mings is recovering from a serious knee injury sustained against Newcastle United whilst Kourtney Hause is out-of-favour and could be moved on this month