
Aston Villa
Premier League • England
Aston Villa move for creative force thrown into doubt as star reveals future ambitions, but Emery still has transfer belief

A winger has attempted to play down rumours he could leave La Liga for Aston Villa by revealing his future ambitions, although there is one key factor which could see him end up in the Premier League.
Unai Emery has already raided La Liga once while at Villa Park, having convinced his side to land Alex Moreno from Real Betis in a £12.5million deal. The left-back has made 10 league appearances for Villa so far, helping them to pick up six wins in that time.
There have been suggestions Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oihan Sancet might follow Moreno’s lead by swapping Spain for the west Midlands. According to Spanish newspaper AS, Villa are interested in Sancet and his team-mate Nico Williams.
But Sancet will no longer secure a transfer away from Athletic after penning a huge nine-year contract with them on Saturday.
Emery will undoubtedly be disappointed by this new deal. But he must get to work on alternative signings as he looks to make Villa a top-six challenger for next season.
Various reports in Spain have detailed Emery’s interest in Isi Palazon. He is a right winger who plays for Madrid-based club Rayo Vallecano.
Palazon is enjoying a good season, having notched six goals and five assists in 25 La Liga matches so far. As per WhoScored, the wide man has been Rayo’s best player this term, picking up an average rating of 7.05.
No Rayo player has registered more goals or assists than Palazon in the league this season. He is also top in the Rayo squad when it comes to key passes per game (an average of 1.7) and shots per game (an average of 2.5).
Aston Villa can snare La Liga man for £17.6m
Palazon is clearly a creative force who could bring goals and assists to Villa. And this is why Emery has begun eyeing him up as a potential summer recruit.
Due to Rayo not being one of the biggest clubs in Spain, it should not cost Villa too much to bring the 28-year-old to England. An offer worth around €20m (£17.6m) should do the trick.
Unfortunately for Villa, Palazon has made a big suggestion that he will reject their advances in the summer.
During a recent interview with Marca (via Sport Witness), the attacker said: “I am very happy in Madrid, I love it as a city. My partner works here, I have my people, my family comes often… I don’t see myself in another club.”
Despite these comments, there is still one event which could see Palazon depart Rayo.
Their manager Andoni Iraola is expected to join a new club at the end of the season. He has done a fantastic job and is now ready to take the next step in his career, having previously been looked at by Leeds United.
It is unlikely Rayo would do as well without Iraola at the helm. And due to this, Palazon may be forced to leave Rayo so he can continue meeting his career ambitions.
Villa may have to wait a bit longer before they can sign the star, but if Iraola leaves Rayo then Emery should be able to get his man.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are being tipped to beat Villa to the signing of a £44m Spain international.