A fire does not always follow the smoke. For Aston Villa supporters, wondering if they had spotted a sign suggesting that their £13 million man was on his way out the door, it seems there was nothing to worry about.
Speculation quickly emerged surrounding the future of Alex Moreno when he was spotted boarding the same plane as Real Betis sporting director Manu Fajardo this week, via Estadio Deportivo.
Moreno joined Aston Villa from Betis back in 2023. He has been linked with a return to the La Liga outfit too, a rumour sparked by the imminent arrival at Villa of fellow left-back Ian Maatsen from Chelsea.
But Fajardo was quick to break his silence and dampen the speculation, insisting that this was nothing more than a rather strange coincidence.
And, at any rate, Real Betis have already snapped up a new left-sided full-back. Romain Perraud joins from Premier League newcomers Southampton after spending the previous season on loan at OGC Nice in France.
Real Betis dismiss rumours about Aston Villa’s Alex Moreno
“The situation experienced yesterday with Alex Moreno is anecdotal,” Fajardo tells Marca. “It happened that Romain and Alex came from the same destination and shared a flight.
“Obviously, in football, we all know each other. There is a relationship of respect and confidence and we talk above all about personal issues.”
Moreno’s Villa Park future remains relatively uncertain. This town ain’t big enough for him, Maatsen and Lucas Digne. But a departure feels far from imminent, Real Betis making it clear that Perraud was always their number one target to fill the left-back spot under former Real Madrid, West Ham and Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini.
“We have never had any doubts that (Perraud) was our first-choice in the market. And our coach has also made this clear to us when we have involved him in this decision-making process, sharing information with him about certain players,” the director adds, via El Correo.
“Romain is a full-back profile that we know perfectly. A full-back that we have followed in recent years, from his time in Brest, from his time at Premier League.
“A full-back that brings together the physical, technical and tactical skills that we consider a full-back must have to be part of our team, to adapt to our game identity. A full-back with continuous movement, back and forth, who which contributes a lot in the offensive phase and defensive phase.”
Ian Maatsen is leaving Chelsea after Dortmund loan
Moreno started only 11 Premier League games during a season interrupted by injury. And, at the age of 31, Aston Villa may be open to offers. Maatsen, after all, is expected to be Unai Emery’s number one left-back next term once he completes his near £40 million switch from Chelsea.
Maatsen may have given the ball away in the build-up to Vinicius Junior’s decider in Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, but the Dutchman was otherwise a big success during his time on loan in Germany.https://www.hitc.com/real-betis-boss-gives-exciting-update-on-alex-morenos-aston-villa-move/
Former Villa captain Gabriel Agbonlahor, meanwhile, is ‘100 per cent’ certain that this is a sale Chelsea will live to regret.
“I get why they are letting him go. £35 to 40million, they’ve already got Marc Cucurella, they’ve got Ben Chilwell, they don’t need another left back,” Agbonlahor tells talkSPORT. “But (Maatsen) could end up being better than both.
“Young age of 22, we’ll bite their hands off (to sign him). He’s a player who’s going to play every week, six-year deal. Aston Villa are going to start doing that as well with youngsters, getting them signed up long term.
“So I think it’s one that Chelsea will regret and one that Aston Villa fans are going to love. He’ll start. And then it wouldn’t surprise me if Lucas Digne moves on and Alex Moreno is the back-up left back.”
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