Aston Villa are closing in on their first signing of the January transfer window as Unai Emery lays down a marker on their ambitions.
Unai Emery is on the lookout for attacking reinforcements to bolster their chances of finishing in the top four.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Aston Villa had a bid believed to be in the region of €10m (£8.6m) ‘verbally accepted’ for Hellas Verona winger Cyril Ngonge.
Now, Sport Witness have reported that an offer is on the table but Emery will have to push to get a deal finalised.
The 23-year-old isn’t keen on making the switch to Villa Park and would prefer to continue his development in the Serie A where Fiorentina have their eyes set on the player.
If Villa do manage to persuade the talented Belgian to move across to England, though, this could spell the end of Bertrand Traore’s time at the club.
The end is near for Bertrand Traore
It is no secret that Villa are looking to offload some of their fringe players in this window.
Leander Dendoncker and Calum Chambers are two who are surplus to requirements while Traore is one name who has been added to that list.
The Burkina Faso international sees his contract expire at the end of the season and an extension is unlikely so Emery may cash in on the 28-year-old, who has featured across for just ten Premier League minutes this term.
Although his campaign has been blighted by setbacks, he wouldn’t have stood a chance of dislodging the sensational Leon Bailey from his right-wing berth and now looks likely to be ditched for Ngonge.
Unai Emery must ditch Traore for Ngonge
Emery is building a dynasty at Villa Park and if he wants to deliver success, he must be ruthless in the transfer window.
Ngonge is a promising young talent who has caught the eye in the Serie A this season, despite his sides struggles.
The talented Belgian has scored five goals and supplied two assists in 15 starts and has operated in multiple positions across the front.
Demonstrating his versatility by playing as a right winger, attacking midfielder or central striker, he would offer the Spaniard multiple options from an attacking sense and perhaps an opportunity to rest their talisman, Ollie Watkins.
On the other hand, Traore has seen his stock tumble dramatically at Villa.
In the 2020/21 Premier League campaign he produced a haul of seven goals and seven assists, but since then, he’s only made 24 appearances in claret and blue.
It is, therefore, best if he’s shifted off the wage budget and replaced with a youngster who Emery can develop into his latest world-beating talent.
