Aston Villa won’t be looking to make drastic alterations to their squad during the January transfer window, but another signing or two by Unai Emery could put them in a wonderful position to end their 28-year trophy drought.
The Spaniard has a wonderful squad at his disposal, yet injuries to key players could potentially see them unravel just when the going gets tough.
Hopefully, it will not come to that, but a couple of signings would ease their reliance on certain players over the next few months.
With this in mind, it appears as though Villa have made an offer for a defender…
Aston Villa’s search for new signings
According to reports in Spain (via Birmingham World), the Midlands side have reportedly made an offer to sign Atlético Madrid defender Mario Hermoso this month, as Emery looks to add some reinforcements to his squad.
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He appears to be of interest to Unai Emery…
The player is out of contract in the summer and thus will be available for a knockdown price this month, although no figure is mentioned in the report.
Barcelona are another team who are keen on signing him, as Xavi looks to bolster his own defence and Villa could face some stiff competition in order to lure him to the Premier League.
Emery has enjoyed recent success in signing players from La Liga and signing Hermoso this month could allow the manager to repeat his Pau Torres masterclass from the summer.
How Mario Hermoso will fit into the Aston Villa side
The former Villarreal defender joined Villa for a fee in the region of £31.5m, and he has since shone for the club.
The Spaniard currently ranks third among the squad for accurate passes per game (54.4) in the league, along with ranking third for clearances per game (2.1) and for accurate long balls per game (2.8), showcasing his excellent passing ability during his first few months at Villa.
The 27-year-old also loves to bring the ball out from the defence often and, when compared to his positional peers, he ranks in the top 2% for both progressive carries (1.95) and successful take-ons (0.86) per 90, while ranking in the top 6% for progressive passes (5.86) per 90 and his impact has been an impressive one.
Hermoso, meanwhile, has played 153 times for Atletico since joining in 2019, and he even won the La Liga title with the club during the 2020/21 campaign.
Hailed as a “revelation” in the past by writer Zach Lowy, he would be a welcome addition indeed, especially as he can play left-back too.
Like Torres, Hermoso is always a forward-thinking defender as he likes to move the ball to the midfielders and forwards as often as possible.
Indeed, when compared to his positional peers, the Spaniard ranks in the top 8% for progressive passes per 90 (5.5) and for successful take-ons per 90 (0.6) and this suggests he could be another Torres for Emery.
The 5 foot 11 gem could be a very shrewd signing, especially due to his performances recently and the fact they could sign him for a lower fee due to his contract situation.
With Torres thriving at Villa, Hermoso could certainly follow in his footsteps.