£5.2m-a-year Aston Villa player may jump ship in January as Milan eye move

£5.2m-a-year Aston Villa player may jump ship in January as Milan eye move

The Villans could be dealt a January blow…

 

There were signs that Unai Emery was building something special at Aston Villa last season, but no one could have foreseen the Villans’ sudden rise into the Premier League’s top four in the current campaign. As the season approaches Christmas, there’s a very real possibility that the Midlands club could be sitting top of the tree in what would be the shock of the season. Given that Emery’s side sit just two points adrift of leaders Liverpool and have just beat the two teams immediately above and below them, it would certainly be deserved too.

Their place among the very best that English football has to offer doesn’t mean that Aston Villa will stop making changes within their squad though, with one particular player attracting interest from a European giant ahead of the January transfer window.

Aston Villa transfer news
Aston Villa have put themselves back on the map both on and off the pitch in the last 12 months. First came their qualification for the Europa Conference League, then came their rewards away from Villa Park. The Midlands club, with European football to offer, attracted one of the Bundesliga’s top stars in Moussa Diaby. Diaby’s goals and assists for Bayer Leverkusen – a combined 25 last season – saw him shoot to stardom and Villa have benefitted from securing his signature ever since.

One signing who hasn’t quite found his feet, however, is Clement Lenglet. The Frenchman signed on loan from Barcelona in the summer but could already leave the club in January. According to Calcio Mercato, AC Milan have made contact with Barcelona to sign Lenglet, whose struggle for game time at Villa could see his loan spell cut short by the La Liga giants.

If Milan do want to sign the defender on loan in January, then they will have to cover his wages, which reportedly sit at €6m (£5.2m) a year. This means that the Italian side would have to fork out £2.6m across a six-month loan spell and that the move may only be possible if Barcelona covered a percentage of Lenglet’s wages.

“Strong” Lenglet needs Aston Villa exit
After impressing on loan at Tottenham Hotspur last season, Lenglet would have been hoping to make a similar impact at Aston Villa. That, however, has been anything but the case, with Lenglet’s game time highlighting his struggles for all to see. The Frenchman hasn’t made a single appearance in the Premier League and has only featured in the Europa Conference League. If anyone needs a move in January, it is Lenglet.

It’s a shame for the Barcelona man, who earned the praise of Hugo Lloris whilst at Spurs last season. The former Lilywhites captain said via The Daily Mail: “He’s a modern defender. Comfortable to be able to play from the back. He has a great left foot and can be very strong in one v one and he’s strong in the air. Even if it’s never easy when you arrive in the Premier League and he will have to adapt to the intensity of the games but he is a high level player, with experience.”