Aston Villa eye January deal for £9m ace with 6 goals and 7 assists

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Premier League outfit Aston Villa are scouting Genk winger Joseph Paintsil with a potential £9 million January move on the cards, according to Sports World Ghana. 

Now, Aston Villa’s record, when it comes to signing players from Belgium’s Jupiler League, is hardly stellar. Marvelous Nakamba is the only one remaining from the extensive 2019/20 recruitment drive, when Wesley Moraes, Mbwana Samatta and Bjorn Engels also arrived. 

This is not to say, however, that value cannot be found on Belgian soil. The likes of Youri Tielemans, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne arrived in England from across the Channel, after all, and Paintsil is a player in top form; six goals and seven assists in just 13 games for league leaders KRC Genk. 

Villa, the report says, have scouted Paintsil five times this season. What’s more, they are apparently impressed by what they’ve seen from a jet-heeled forward. One who could form part of Ghana’s 2022 World Cup squad. 

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa eye Genk winger Joseph Paintsil

Left-footed and versatile enough to play on either flank, Paintsil is valued at around £9 million.

“(At Genk), I’ve played as a right back, in the number ten position and also on the left and right,” Paintsil explains. “But now I feel more comfortable playing on the left wing.” 

In addition to his nose for goal, Paintsil’s explosive acceleration marks him out as a major threat for opposition defences. Interestingly, Villa boss Unai Emery has a history when it comes to getting the best out of similar players; Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins already looking revitalised under the former Arsenal coach. 

“Paintsil has one great quality and that is speed,” explains former Belgium international Wesley Sonck. 

Should he arrive in January, the former Ankaragucu loanee would provide some competition in a Villa attack lighter following a series of summer departures. Bertrand Traore, Anwar El Ghazi and Trezeguet all departed.

“I had a really good conversation with the PSV director of football and the manager. And I felt loved again,” El Ghazi tells The Athletic.

“It was really important for me. And I made a decision on the back of how much the club really wanted me. On the other side, I didn’t want to leave. I really wanted to stick with Villa.

“But I had one year left (on my contract), a manager (Steven Gerrard) who really didn’t want me there. And had I stayed there… well, it was just so difficult.”