Aston Villa reportedly wanted to bring Alfonso Pedraza to the Premier League.
Alfonso Pedraza has turned down the chance to join Aston Villa this summer, instead swapping Villarreal for Real Betis, according to Estadio Deportivo.
Two and a half years ago, a little-known winger arrived on loan at Leeds United. The Whites were closing in on a place in the play-offs under Garry Monk and, according to AS, Pedraza would have become an £8 million permanent signing if Leeds sealed their return to the Premier League.
In the end, however, the West Yorkshire giants missed out on the top six and Pedraza returned to Spain instead. And, flash forward to the summer of 2019 and the now-23-year-old has apparently turned down a second chance in English football with big-spending Aston Villa.
According to Estadio Deportivo, a club who have spent over £80 million already this summer wanted to sign the Spain U21 international too. But he rejected a move to Villa Park, instead choosing to sign for Real Betis on loan.
Pedraza is no longer the waifish winger who struggled to make an impression at Leeds. Since returning to Spain, he has been transformed into a shuttling left-back with his aggressive and attack-minded style really catching the eye during a 2017/18 spell at Alaves.
It would be interesting to find out exactly when Aston Villa made their move for Pedraza? Was it before they signed Southampton’s Matt Targett instead? Or did Villa want Pedraza to provide competition for Targett and replace Neil Taylor in Dean Smith’s squad?
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