Aston Villa reportedly wanted to bring Pione Sisto to the Premier League despite his erratic displays for Celta Vigo in La Liga.
Aston Villa failed to sign Denmark international Pione Sisto before Thursday’s transfer deadline despite having a £9.3 million bid accepted by Celta Vigo, according to Marca.
No club in the Premier League bought more players than newly-promoted Villa during the summer of 2019 with no less than 12 players arriving on permanent deals. But that doesn’t mean the Midland giants were not left with a slight tinge of frustration.
It is no secret that manager Dean Smith wanted another striker before the 5pm cut-off point and it seems that Aston Villa were left disappointed in their pursuit of a La Liga winger too.
According to Marca, Villa saw a bid of £9.3 million accepted by Celta, who are trying to find a buyer for Sisto in order to finance a deal to bring former fans’ favourite Nolito back to the Balaidos from Sevilla.
The former Midtjylland forward was even offered a substantial pay rise with around £20,000-a-week on the table in the Premier League. But, Marca claims, Sisto turned down the move – much to the frustration of Celta Vigo themselves.
The 24-year-old is hardly the most consistent footballer in Spain. In fact, he’s pretty much the opposite. But Sisto is a player capable of producing game-changing quality, cutting inside from the left onto his cannon of a right foot.
He struggled as Celta barely dodged relegation last season but, in 2017/18, he produced five goals and nine assists in La Liga.
And Sisto would probably have replaced Anwar El Ghazi at Villa, the former Ajax winger who struggled to make an impact in Saturday’s defeat to Tottenham.
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