'Being discussed' - Aston Villa open to £13m star's exit as talks begin with Man City-owned club
The latest transfer news as Aston Villa get closer to selling a £13 million player.
Girona are reportedly in talks with Aston Villa to sign out-of-sorts left-back Alex Moreno this summer.
Moreno spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest but failed to make a strong enough impression, often benched in favour of starting Neco Williams. It was a similar story at Villa Park the campaign before that, too, as Moreno was unable to shift Lucas Digne out of the starting lineup regularly enough.
Unai Emery didn’t include Moreno in his squad for Villa’s pre-season tour to the United States as it was felt the time would be best used for trying to secure a transfer away. That could soon become a reality as several clubs have made contact.
La Liga club enter Aston Villa transfer talks
The Athletic reports Girona, owned by the same company as Manchester City, are the latest team to have entered talks over signing Moreno. It’s stated that the parameters of the deal are still to be worked out, with a loan and permanent transfer ‘being discussed’. Moreno is said to be ‘open to the possibility’ of joining Girona as he believes his time at Villa is up.
Earlier in the window, there were widespread reports that fellow La Liga club Real Betis had been in touch with Villa to discuss signing Moreno. As the 32-year-old played with Los Verdiblancos from 2019 to 2023, that seemed like a sensible move. Nothing appears to have progressed, however, with Girona now being linked instead.
How much could Villa sell Moreno for?
Unfortunately for Villa, it’s highly unlikely much of the £13.3 million fee paid to sign Moreno will be recouped by his sale. When the Spaniard was signed, he was 29 and still in his prime, albeit reaching the end of it. Now, two and a half years on, Moreno is beginning to slow down a little. He’s also only got 11 months left on his contract.
It awaits to be seen exactly what sort of figures Villa have been discussing with Girona and other clubs interested, but the sums are unlikely to be groundbreaking. It’ll be good to get another player off the books wage-wise, but there may not be too many other financial benefits of letting Moreno go. It’s more for the best footballing interests of all parties.
Emery delighted with left-back options
Villa no longer need Moreno, truth be told, as Emery is thrilled with Digne and Ian Maatsen. Having two top-class left-backs has really satisfied Emery, who has been able to chop and change in matches to subtly tweak his tactics.
Digne, the more experienced of the two, is a little more accomplished defensively and probably has the better crossing ability. Maatsen, meanwhile, is quicker, more agile and better at dribbling with the ball. As a result, Digne is effective as a more traditional attacking full-back, whereas Maatsen is more of an inverted wing-back type.
The current setup is working so well that Birmingham World understands talks are now underway with Digne over a new contract. It was previously thought that the France international would be sold to help comply with UEFA’s squad cost rules (SCR), but Emery is determined to keep him.