Aston Villa have seen an opening bid of up to £6 million rejected by Sevilla for Marcos Acuna with some describing the Premier League side’s offer as ‘ridiculous’.
Unfortunately for Monchi – Aston Villa’s new President of Footballing Operations – the Midland giants have already set their own benchmark for sort of the fee they are expected to pay for a La Liga left-back.
Villa bought Alex Moreno from Real Betis in January for £13.3 million. Sevilla know that too, and are in no mood to let their World Cup-winning Argentina international depart for around half of the fee handed over to their Andalusian rivals for Moreno.
According to Diario de Sevilla, Aston Villa’s opening bid for the former Sporting Lisbon man was £4.3 million up front, rising to £6 million with bonuses. Sevilla, however, have ‘categorically rejected’ that proposal. One that has even been labelled ‘ridiculous’ in some quarters.
You can understand Aston Villa’s reticence to break the eight-figure barrier for Acuna. The all-action full-back will celebrate his 32nd birthday in October, after all. Villa will be under no illusions that Acuna’s best days may already be behind him, and that he offers little to no re-sale value.
What’s more, when Moreno returns from the injury which kept him out of Saturday’s 5-1 thumping by Newcastle United, he is likely to establish himself as Unai Emery’s first-choice once again.
Sevilla president Jose Castro is open to selling Acuna this month, albeit for the right price. The reigning Europa League winners want in excess of 15 million euros, however; a colossal gap between Sevilla’s valuation of Acuna and Aston Villa’s.
“He has a price,” Castro tells El Desmarque. “Our team is a team with champion players, and the champions have a price.
“If an offer arrives, we will study it. If it is good and that it corresponds to his value, we will do it (sell Acuna),” Castro adds.
“(Should the offer) not meet those requirements, he will stay in Sevilla. Nothing will happen.”
While an agreement with Acuna still feels a long way off, Aston Villa should have Nicolo Zaniolo in their ranks before this weekend’s clash with Everton. An agreement with Galatasaray is reportedly’ complete for the Italy international.
Leave a Reply