'Heart set' - concerning Aston Villa transfer update emerges amid 'wasted effort' claim

Aston Villa may be flying in the Champions League, but with inconsistent league form hampering their chances of reaching the top four once again it’s likely that the club (and president of football operations Monchi) will be busy in the summer transfer window – and a frustrating update has emerged concerning one supposed target.

Sport Witness have reported on stories from Spain which claim that Aston Villa are interested in signing goalkeeper Álvaro Valles to provide some competition for Yashin Trophy winner Emiliano Martínez, but the latest updates suggest that he may be more likely to move to former club Real Betis instead.

Villa “may need to work hard” to sign the 27-year-old shot-stopper, who most recently played for Las Palmas before terminating his contract with the La Liga side by mutual consent in February, amid concerns that contact between Monchi and the player may prove to be a “wasted effort”.

Valles may have ‘heart set’ on Betis return

6’4” goalkeeper Valles seems to have been earmarked as a replacement for current back-up goalkeeper Robin Olsen after losing his place in the Las Palmas side this season.

Valles has made 138 appearances for the Spanish side, mostly in the second tier, but despite helping them to dodge relegation from the top flight last year he was demoted following the signing of experienced Dutchman Jasper Cillensen.

With his chances of first-team football disappearing, Las Palmas agreed to let Valles leave in February to clear a path for him to sign for another side – and despite Villa’s interest and reported phone calls from Monchi, he may have “his heart set” on a more romantic return to Betis, whose youth team he came through.

Valles never made a senior appearance for the Betis first team, moving to Las Palmas in 2018 before establishing himself as their first-choice goalkeeper in La Segunda the following year. Marseille and Villarreal are also said to be interested in signing Valles, but a reunion with his former club seems more probable at this point, leaving Villa looking elsewhere for a goalkeeper who can compete with Martínez.

Goalkeeper among summer priorities for Villa

Signing a new goalkeeper has become one of Villa’s summer priorities, with current number two, the 35-year-old Oisen, likely to leave at the end of his contract in June.

That would leave 20-year-old Polish stopper Oliwier Zych as the only other ‘senior’ goalkeeper on the books at Villa Park. The Under-21 international impressed on loan at Puszcza Niepołomice in his homeland last season and was nominated for Ekstraklasa Goalkeeper of the Year, but has yet to make a first-team appearance for the Villans.

With Zych lacking in experience, Unai Emery is expected to be keen to add a strong back-up should Martínez become unavailable at any stage. They are also likely to look for reinforcements in defence and up front, especially if permanent deals for loanees Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio prove elusive.

In other transfer news, Villa reportedly face competition from Liverpool for Wolfsburg centre-half Konstantinos Koulierakis this summer, while Emery has provided a mixed response to his players’ performance in the 3-1 Champions League win over Club Brugge on Tuesday evening.