Aston Villa have now made an approach to sign Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde, with Unai Emery setting out to improve his defence.
Emery’s backline struggled in their opening Premier League game, succumbing to a 4-0 defeat against Brighton at the American Express Stadium, a result that leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table at this very early stage.
Villa are already well-stocked at left-back, with Ian Maatsen being given the nod against the Seagulls, ahead of new signing Matteo Ruggeri, who joined from Atletico Madrid last week.
However, they have set their sights on another left-back, with Balde among the targets, having established himself as a regular starter for Barcelona over the past few years, making 42 appearances in all competitions last season.
The 22-year-old, who interestingly is represented by the same agency as Emery, was an important player for Barca, but he was outperformed by Ruggeri across some key metrics for defenders in La Liga.
|
La Liga average per 90 |
Matteo Ruggeri |
Alejandro Balde |
|
Tackles |
1.8 |
1.7 |
|
Interceptions |
0.2 |
1.0 |
|
Clearances |
3.3 |
1.2 |
|
Blocks |
0.2 |
0.5 |
|
Recoveries |
5.0 |
4.4 |
That said, the full-back is still young, and Barcelona boss Hansi Flick believes he can still develop further, saying: “Balde is a player who needs confidence. His performance is incredible and he has improved and I love what I see. But he has potential and can be much better. He handles situations very well when he is under pressure. He can improve, defensively and offensively. He can score goals. It is very nice to see how he has improved.”
According to a report from Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa have made an approach to sign Balde, but there is competition for his signature, with Premier League rivals Manchester United also keen.
The Spain international initially wanted to remain at the Camp Nou, but Barcelona’s willingness to sanction a sale has changed his stance, although they have set the relatively high asking price of €40m – €45m (£34m – £38m).
As such, Jorge Mendes has received the green light to find his client a new club, and the super agent has been in discussions with Man United.
The Red Devils have been searching for a new left-back to provide competition to Luke Shaw, whereas there are question marks about whether Villa need to sign Balde, after securing Ruggeri’s signature.
Strengthening in the centre of defence may be a bigger priority, following Ezri Konsa‘s departure to Arsenal, with Emery saying: “We want one centre-back more to replace Konsa, but we have a young centre-back, (Modou Kéba) Cissé, working with us in pre-season. He’s a young player with potential.
“This is the way we are trying to work. We are building the team again. The challenge we have is a huge challenge, like every year at the beginning of the season. We can remember how we were at the beginning of last season.”
