Aston Villa’s interest in Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena poses an issue for Barcelona, who is also interested in the player.AS covers the player today after he made his debut for the Spanish national team last month, scoring in a 6-0 triumph against Cyprus.That was a ‘idyllic’ debut for the player, who has been on the rise for the better part of a year and has been linked with a move away from Villarreal this summer.
Barcelona was one of the clubs interested in him, with Mateu Alemany and Joan Laporta seeing him as a player with the Barcelona DNA and hoping to recruit him as a result.
The club’s financial difficulties made that impossible, though, with Villarreal refusing to consider any kind of loan deal with a purchase option.
Alemany’s departure has not changed Barcelona’s intentions with the player and his good start to the season, with a goal and two assists, means he remains a target.
There is now more competition for him, though, with Aston Villa interested in him last summer and maintaining that interest still.
They are one of several Premier League sides who have him ‘monitored’ and it cannot be ruled out that one of them will try to sign him in the January transfer window.
Any deal is likely to cost around €40m, with the player having a €60m release clause in his current contract but Villarreal willing to negotiate below that price. Whether Aston Villa would pay such a figure isn’t clear, but they continue to back Unai Emery and Baena is a player he knows well.
It’s a situation to keep an eye on, and Villa’s potential competition for his signature is a problem for Barcelona, who simply don’t have the finances to compete.
