Aston Villa are enjoying a solid transfer window so far. Jadon Philogene has departed for Ipswich Town, raising £20m in the process.
Elsewhere, Diego Carlos looks set to leave Villa, making the move to Fenerbahçe for a fee in the region of €11m (£9.3m) after two and a half years in the Midlands.
Donyell Malen has been the only addition thus far, but could Unai Emery be closing in on signing number two?
Aston Villa closing in on another signing
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Villa are currently in advanced talks to sign Seville defender Loic Bade, and are set to finalise a switch worth a £30m fee.
Moving on Philogene and now Carlos has given Emery the funds to make further signings which will bolster his squad ahead of a crucial few months.
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The likes of Liverpool, Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion were all keen on bringing Bade to the Premier League, but it appears Villa have won the race to sign the centre-back.
Despite securing the services of Malen this month, could the signing of Bade be more important for Villa and what they hope to achieve this season?
Why Loic Bade could be a better signing than Donyell Malen
In Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers, along with the supporting cast of Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey, Emery has plenty of attacking players who can make a difference in the final third.
That’s not to say Malen won’t offer much, as he has proved to be a fine player, especially in the Champions League, scoring twice and grabbing an assist for Borussia Dortmund this term.
Given the magnitude of talent at the manager’s disposal in an attacking sense, Malen’s arrival might go under the radar.
It was clear, however, that bringing in another defender was imperative this window. With Carlos all but gone and Pau Torres out for a couple of months, Emery is bordering on a defensive crisis. Bade, therefore, is the answer.
The former Forest defender’s talents were identified as far back as 2021 when he was finely praised by talent scout Jacek Kulig, who said: “He’s so good, mature and complete. He will be a world-class defender in the future. I have no doubt about that. Elite talent.”
When compared to his positional peers in La Liga this season, Bade currently ranks in the top 2% for tackles (2.17) and touches in the defensive third (44.38), the top 1% for successful take-ons (0.59) and in the top 5% for ball recoveries (4.79) per 90.
These are an impressive range of statistics, especially in one of the toughest leagues in Europe, suggesting Bade will be an excellent addition to the Villa squad should a deal get over the line.
Accurate passes
53.4
50.1
Tackles
0.8
2.1
Total duels won
2.2
4.8
Balls recovered
3.6
4.6
Interceptions
0.5
0.9
Fouls committed
1.1
0.8
Therefore, his signing will be of far greater importance to Emery than that of Malen’s, especially given the depth of talent across both the defensive and attacking areas of the first-team squad.
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