Aston Villa: Disastrous Gerrard signing to gain big move to Euro giant as agent intervenes
Emi Buendia hugs Diego Carlos after scoring for Aston Villa
One of Steven Gerrard’s failed signings at Aston Villa could surprisingly achieve a big transfer out of England this summer, according to a report.
Villa backed Gerrard with some major signings during his time in the West Midlands as they thought he could help them reach their goal of getting into the top six. In January 2022, Gerrard’s first transfer window as Villa boss, the club sanctioned moves for Lucas Digne, Philippe Coutinho and Calum Chambers.
Then, in the summer of 2022, Villa continued their big transfer plans by landing Leander Dendoncker, Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos, Jan Bednarek and Ludwig Augustinsson. They also made Coutinho and Robin Olsen’s loan moves permanent.
Those moves saw Villa create a great squad for Gerrard, but he could not get the best out of his players. And after just 11 Premier League games last season, Villa chiefs axed the Liverpool icon.
Villa went on to bring in Unai Emery as Gerrard’s replacement and the move has proven to be a masterstroke, with the Spaniard helping them to charge up the Prem table and ultimately finish in seventh place. Villa will therefore compete in next season’s Europa Conference League.
According to Italian source Inter Live, Carlos might leave Villa after just one year in the Prem. That is because the centre-back has emerged as a target for Inter.
The Serie A giants have been alerted to Carlos’ availability by his agent, who has offered the Brazilian’s services to them.
It is claimed Villa will demand between €15-20m (£12.9-17.2m) to sell Carlos. This would see Villa take a significant loss on the defender as they spent £26m on him last summer.
Troublesome Aston Villa signing wanted by Italian giants
The main reason Carlos is being tipped to leave Villa so early into his Prem career is the serious injury he endured last season. Carlos only made two league appearances for his new club before suffering a severe Achilles problem, which ruled him out of action for seven months.
It took Carlos a long time to get back to match fitness and even when he did, he struggled to force his way back into Villa’s starting eleven.
Villa pulled off a transfer coup when originally landing Carlos. In the previous campaign, he had played brilliantly. He also helped Sevilla win the Europa League in 2019-20.
But the 30-year-old’s stock has taken a big hit amid his troublesome spell at Villa, which is why Inter are keeping tabs on the situation.
Despite Inter’s hopes of signing Carlos, it would actually make sense for Emery to keep him. Carlos is a proven operator at the top level and he could therefore force his way into the Villa starting lineup as long as he remains fit for a full campaign.
Plus, Carlos has a big point to prove, as he will want to show Villa supporters that he has what it takes to become a reliable player for them.
If Villa reject Inter’s advances for Carlos and the player goes on to become a regular under Emery, then the club will finally be getting their money’s worth.
