Aston Villa transfer news: ‘New Bruno Fernandes’ tops Villains’ summer wish list

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According to a report by Portuguese outlet Record, Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Pedro Goncalves as a potential summer signing.

Described as the ‘new Bruno Fernandes’ by agent Jorge Pires, the Sporting CP left-winger has been on fire in Liga NOS, with an impressive 12 goals and 5 assists to his name in 20 starts this season.

Now, it seems like the ‘absolute diamond’, who has previously been linked to Liverpool and Arsenal has caught the eye of Aston Villa.

Aston Villa keeping a close eye on Pedro Goncalves

While the former Wolves attacker, who was sold in 2019 was not much of a big name at the time, he has managed to transform his reputation as one of Portugal’s most productive players.

So much so that Record have reported that Aston Villa are ‘closely following’ Pedro Goncalves to the extent that he is on top of their transfer wish list in the summer.

The 24-year-old stood out to Villa once again, following his sparkling displays in the Europa League. While Sporting are open to hearing offers, they will only sell one of their most ‘desirable’ assets for a high fee, considering his contract expires in 2026 and he has a £70.7 million release clause.

Pedro Goncalves could be what Philippe Coutinho was supposed to

If Aston Villa do end up signing Pedro Goncalves for a big-money fee in the summer, he could end up having the impact Philippe Coutinho was supposed to as a marquee attacker known to get goals and assists.

The Villains are most certainly in need of a productive forward player, with Ollie Watkins being their top scorer in the Premier League with 7 goals, while Coutinho remains firmly out of Unai Emery’s plans.

Considering Pedro Goncalves continues to make headlines however, it will take a herculean effort from Aston Villa to win the race for his services.