Aston Villa boss given ‘green light’ to sign attacker while La Liga defender remains ‘top target’

Unai Emery’s side face Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend in what will be their final Premier League fixture before the FIFA World Cup finals.
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It may only be the middle of November but there are just three rounds of Premier League fixtures remaining before the January transfer window opens.

Aston Villa face Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium on Sunday in what will be their final match before domestic football goes on hiatus and the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar take centre stage. The English top flight then returns on Boxig Day followed by another round of festive fixtures then clubs can once again start buying and selling players. At Villa Park, Unai Emery will have his first window in charge of the club and it could prove to be a busy one.

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Per a report from Football Insider, Villa have set their sights on signing an “A-list forward” in January and the Spanish coach has been given the green light to recruit a “versatile operator” who can potentially play anywhere across the front line. Rather than just add another option, it is said that the former Arsnela boss is looking for an “upgrade’ on his current attackers with Emiliano Buendia, Philippe Coutinho, Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore named.

Meanwhile, the same report states that Villarreal defender Pau Torres remains a “top target” for Aston Villa in the January transfer window as well as a new forward. The 25-year old was a key part of the first team at the Estadio de la Cerámica under Emery and was consistently one of their most impressive performers in both the league and European football. Villa fans will likely get the chance to see Torres in action at the World Cup finals with the defender having been a regular for the Spain men’s team in recent years, although they have yet to name their final 25-man squad for the tournament.

Although Villa have been linked with the defender for several weeks, it now looks like they could face competition from one of their Premier League rivals. Spanish publication Fichajes have reported that Newcastle United ‘want to sign’ Torres as part of a trio of La Liga transfer targets. The North East side are also said to be interested in Athletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco and Real Betis striker Nabil Fekir.

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