Aston Villa transfer news: Emery now fighting Newcastle United to sign ‘outstanding’ £15m playmaker

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Aston Villa have joined Newcastle United in the race to sign Mallorca playmaker Lee Kang-in during this month’s transfer window.

That’s according to Spanish newspaper Marca, who claim that interest in Lee is mounting.

Newcastle have been linked for weeks now but Villa are now having a close look too.

Add in Burnley and Feyenoord and it looks like Lee will have a number of clubs chasing his signature in the coming weeks.

It’s stated that a number of scouts from English teams travelled to watch Lee play against Atletico Madrid earlier this season.

No offers have yet been submitted for Lee but Mallorca are allegedly aware that he will be moving on soon enough.

It’s stated that Lee is beginning to outgrow Mallorca and interest from Premier League clubs is ‘very strong’.

The report adds that Lee has a release clause of around £17million (£15million), and Mallorca currently hope that they can at least keep him until the summer.

Who is Aston Villa and Newcastle United target Lee Kang-in?

Lee emerged with hometown club Incheon United over in South Korea before being snapped up by Valencia in 2011.

Lee was just 10 at the time but Valencia saw huge potential in him and developed him for a decade.

Valencia academy director Luis Vicente Mateo told Goal in 2019 that he felt Lee was an ‘outstanding talent’ amid comparisons to David Silva.

Yet after 62 first-team appearances for Valencia, Lee was let go in 2021 with his contract terminated.

Mallorca were more than happy to swoop in and try to get Lee back on track – something that has certainly happened.

An attacking midfielder with a great left foot, Lee has bagged two goals and four assists in 16 La Liga games this season.

Marca claimed in November that Newcastle are leading the race to sign Lee.

Yet with Aston Villa now interested too, the Magpies face a real battle.

Lee may well have popped onto Unai Emery’s radar having watched him shine for Mallorca during his time as Villarreal boss.

It’s also worth noting that Emery was Valencia boss when Lee first joined the club as a kid, so there may be some awareness of hm going back more than 10 years.