Aston Villa could be set for a busy January transfer window following the appointment of Unai Emery with the manager likely to want to put his own mark on the team and now a new potential transfer target has emerged.
What’s the latest?
According to The Mirror, the Villa boss is plotting a swoop for Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma in the January transfer window.
As per the report, Emery is keen to address the lack of wide forwards available at Villa Park and is planning to raid his former club to acquire the services of the talented winger in order to strengthen his team over the second half of the season.
A “nightmare” for opponents
It is no secret that Aston Villa are in need of some clinical and high-quality wide forwards after Steven Gerrard let go of Trezeguet, Anwar El Ghazi and Bertrand Traore, so if Emery could convince Danjuma to make a move to Villa Park in 2023 it would be a major addition.
The 25-year-old ace – who was dubbed a “nightmare” by Kevin Phillips – has scored 71 goals and registered 36 assists over his career so far with a goal contribution every 130 minutes, proving that he is a reliable and consistent performer in front of goal.
The former Bournemouth man certainly lives up to that billing as far as his ball carrying is concerned where he has terrorised defenders for years. Indeed, he made 1.4 dribbles per game last term and has made as many as three per match in World Cup qualifying for the Netherlands.
Sadly, Danjuma has not been consistently featuring for his Spanish club this season after suffering an injury a few months ago, but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring two goals over six La Liga appearances with the winger averaging out at just 53 minutes per game.
The former Villarreal manager may have a huge advantage in snapping up the services of the Netherlands international due to Danjuma’s huge admiration for Emery, something he expressed in an interview with ESPN:
“Emery is special: he’s one of the main reasons why I came to Villarreal,” Danjuma claimed.
“It’s such a privilege to work under him as a coach. He is so open with the players and I am learning so much from him. It is really enjoyable to work with him. He is one of the best. He is different.”
With that being said, it will be interesting to see whether Emery would put Ollie Watkins back in the centre-forward role to partner Danjuma or whether he’d play alongside Danny Ings instead should the club secure the player’s signature in the coming weeks.