Aston Villa are eyeing up a new centre-back after a fresh update on Clement Lenglet’s future was revealed.
As disclosed by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on X yesterday, Clement Lenglet’s future at Aston Villa is in doubt and he could depart the club next month.
He wrote: “Understand Aston Villa will speak to Clement Lenglet’s camp before the end of the month in order to discuss January exit — considered likely. Barcelona will also be involved in the discussion.
AC Milan remain keen but still waiting to understand conditions of loan deal.”
Lenglet joined on loan from Barcelona in the summer and has rarely featured in Unai Emery’s plans due to the form of Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Diego Carlos.
Although he’s shone on the Europa Conference League stage, he’s not played a single minute of Premier League football this term.
With his exit in January looking increasingly likely, Villa need to find a replacement and fortunately, an update has emerged regarding their pursuit of a central defender.
Aston Villa have been linked with a move to sign Alessandro Buongiorno
According to Italian outlet Roma Metropolitan Magazine, Aston Villa are interested in signing Torino centre-back Alessandro Buongiorno.
The 24-year-old has established himself as one of the most promising centre-backs in Serie A and the price tag attached to his head reflects the ceiling of his potential.
It is said that the President of Torino, Urbano Cairo, will demand over €30 million (£26 million) to let the 2-cap Italy international depart the club.
With fellow Premier League rivals Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham all willing to pay the asking price for Buongiorno, it promises to be an exciting transfer battle.
In years gone by, Villa would lose out on a quality player to the notorious ‘big six’, but now they’ve cracked the formula and are fighting for the title, joining Unai Emery’s project is a hugely attractive proposition.
Why Aston Villa should replace Lenglet with Buongiorno
A left-footed centre-back, like Lenglet, Buongiorno has showcased why he’s such a sought-after talent in the Serie A this season.
Standing at 6 foot 3, the Italian is a domineering presence at the heart of the defence, utilising his aerial and physical advantage to get the better of opposing attackers.
Buongirono’s physical and defensive capabilities are backed up by his incredible metrics.
Across Europe’s top five leagues in the past year, he places in the top 11% for aerials won and top 5% interceptions, as per FBref.
This underscores his ‘aggressive’ nature in defence, with the Sun describing him as ‘one of the most aggressive tacklers in Serie A’.
Of course, Villa’s defence is already strong with the likes of Pau, Carlos and Konsa, but it would become even stronger if they were to capture the Italian goliath.
