Aston Villa have now been told to pay €60m (£53m) to sign Arsenal target Luiz Henrique – who Manchester United are also keen on.
What’s the story?
Well, talk of Aston Villa being interested in the Brazilian first arose when Dominic King of the Daily Mail claimed that Unai Emery had seen a £45m bid rejected for Nico Williams, and would focus on Henrique as the alternative.
That came after ABC Sevilla revealed that Arsenal and Manchester United also want to sign the South American.
Now, Mucho Deporte have an update regarding the 22-year-old’s price tag.
The Spanish news outlet believe Real Betis want €60m (£53m) to sell Henrique this month, which seems like a significant amount.
While it is quite a hefty sum of money, it is actually much lower than the forward’s €100m (£88m) release clause, which Real Betis easily could have referred the Premier League trio to, as most European sides do nowadays.
Henrique has caught the eye of the Premier League after scoring three goals while also providing five assists in 24 appearances across all competitions this season.
Aston Villa, Arsenal & Manchester United should be encouraged
In our view, the Premier League trio should be encouraged by what Real Betis are demanding.
Some may see a significant asking price, but in our view, the fact Real Betis have began the bidding at €40m (£35m) under Henrique’s release clause suggests they are open to a sale.
If the Spanish side had no intention of selling their No.11 this month, they would surely issue a hands-off warning by reiterating the astromonical release clause, and telling the Premier League trio to pay up or shut up.
Of course, £53m is still a lot to pay for a 22-year-old unproven outside of Spanish football, but it feels as if a deal could be done for lower with Real Betis demanding a lot less than his release clause.
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