Aston Villa were keen on Levante’s Cheick Doukoure in January.
Aston Villa did land a midfielder in January by bringing in Tom Carroll on loan from Swansea City, but they allegedly went shopping in Spain first.
With Jesus Garcia Pitarch in charge of transfers at Villa Park, he was attempting to use his knowledge of Spanish football to bolster the Villa squad.
As reported by Super Deporte, Villa were in negotiations to sign Levante midfielder Cheick Doukoure on loan, presumably with a view to a permanent deal.
The 26-year-old ended up staying with Levante, and has now become embroiled in a bizarre saga over in La Liga.
On Sunday, Doukoure was in action for Levante against Real Madrid, and conceded a late penalty, which Gareth Bale dispatched to clinch a 2-1 win for Real.
However, the decision went to VAR, and despite Doukoure swinging his leg and clearly not even touching Real midfielder Casemiro, the decision stood.
Not only that, but as noted by AS, Doukoure actually suffered cruciate ligament damage whilst ‘kicking the air’, and now faces a major spell on the sidelines.
The Ivorian’s situation is freakish and unlikely to be repeated again, and any chance of Villa rekindling any interest this summer looks to be over.
The incident shows that VAR is far from error-proof right now, and whilst nothing would have prevented the injury, the double-whammy of a shameful penalty being awarded could and should have been avoided.
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