Aston Villa fans will be concerned about the amount of outgoings currently being talked about at Villa Park.
Indeed, every passing day seems to throw up another rumoured casualty from the West Midlands giants, with Ollie Watkins the next high-profile name to be linked with an exit as Arsenal show an interest in the lethal Premier League goal machine again.
Emiliano Martinez’s name is also in this constant conversation, with a move to Manchester United reportedly lined up.
But why is this all happening? Well, Unai Emery’s men are trying to balance the books by whatever means necessary to comply with stringent PSR rules.
Aston Villa chasing £30m signing
Martinez and Watkins aren’t the only key members of the Villa squad who could depart the Midlands this summer with Arsenal also allegedly eyeing Morgan Rogers.
If the England international does exit, presumably for a colossal fee, they would need a replacement.
Well, according to reports from Spain, via Sport Witness, Villa are continuing to hunt the signature of Real Betis starlet Jesus Rodriguez this summer.
It is stated that several clubs are looking at the teenage sensation, with Cesc Fabregas’ Como said to be accelerating their efforts to tempt the Spanish hotshot to Italy, alongside Monchi also powering ahead with Villa’s own advances.
Betis are reportedly willing to sanction a move for Rodriguez to leave when he returns from international action with Spain U21s at the ongoing Euros tournament, with a £30m price-tag also above his head if he does seek out a new home shortly.
Villa could well have that amount in the bank if a major sale is signed off on, with this going down as a worthwhile investment if Rodriguez can instantly acclimatise to his new environment.
Already, the Seville-born attacker has made waves in the senior picture at Betis, as seen in this coolly tucked away chance in European action.
How Rodriguez could become Emery’s next Rogers
Much like Emery managed with a once wide-eyed Rogers, Rodriguez could soon be transformed into a far more impressive forward player under the ex-Arsenal manager’s expert guidance.
After all, Rogers was only two years older than Rodriguez is now when he was first handed a senior shot at Villa, having cost £15m to obtain from Middlesbrough.
Now, Rogers is spoken about as a player worth around £100m, and for good reason too when you consider his whirlwind rise at Villa Park from promising youngster plucked out of the EFL, to one of the key first names on Emery’s teamsheet.
Rogers wasn’t an overnight success, however, with only four goal contributions coming his way from his first 16 Villa first-team outings. But, the rest is history now for the “unstoppable” attacker, as Jamie Carragher glowingly labelled him last season, with a spellbinding 29 goal contributions next to his name during his second campaign at Emery’s men.
Rodriguez will hope he can be turned into a similar superstar under the Spaniard’s tutelage, with the 19-year-old already being described as “explosive” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, even as he’s still navigating the fledgling stages of his career.
|
Rodriguez’s G/A numbers for Betis |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Age bracket |
Games played |
Goals scored |
Assists |
|
First team |
32 |
3 |
2 |
|
Betis B |
36 |
9 |
3 |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
|||
Everything is pointing in the direction of the Betis number 36 going on to live up to his hype, with Rodriguez ahead of Rogers’ development already by showing immense flashes of his quality at the very peak of Spanish football.
To add context, when Rogers was only 19 years of age himself, he was attempting to cut his teeth in the Championship with AFC Bournemouth, while Rodriguez is already confidently scoring in the Conference League.
Patience will need to be exercised on the ends of the Villans like they offered up to a growing Rogers, but with their depleted numbers down the left wing clear for all to see, Rodriguez might be immediately chucked into the deep-end, with a hope he doesn’t sink under all the pressure and instead excels.
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