Atletico Madrid, with one of the strongest defences in Europe, reportedly want to sign Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi.
Only a few months ago, reports in The Guardian that Aston Villa owner Tony Xia rejected a £25 million offer for Jordan Amavi were not overly surprising.
After all, the France youth international had returned from a year on the sidelines seemingly stronger than ever. And, at the age of 23, one of the continent’s most exciting young left-backs was always going to be in high demand.
Five months on, however, Xia would surely bite anyone’s hand off for even a slice of that £25 million cake. Amavi has been in largely dreadful form since the turn of the year, his ability on the overlap undermined by a propensity to switch off at crucial moments defensively.
In short, the former Nice flyer is a specialist who cannot do the basics. And, as a result, the solid, dependable Neil Taylor took his place on the left of Steve Bruce’s back four in the final months of the season.
Amavi to Atleti?
Yet, according to L’Equipe, that has not stopped La Liga giants Atletico Madrid from expressing an interest. The prospect of Amavi acting as a long-term successor for Filipe Luis, one of the most complete, all-round full-backs to grace modern European football, will surely leave smirks on the face of plenty of Villa supporters.
After all, Atletico’s madcap manager Diego Simeone prides himself upon his well-drilled, almost watertight backline – one of the most formidable on the continent. However, it’s fair to say Amavi doesn’t quite possess the Argentine’s adoration for defensive discipline.
Nonetheless, if Los Rojiblancos have their transfer ban overturned by FIFA, one of the most surprising transfers of the summer could very well take place.
And Villa will be laughing all the way to the bank.
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