Villa keeping tabs on “special” £51m Luiz replacement, he could be Emery’s own Rice

| January 31, 2024 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Aston Villa could sign £51m Luiz replacement who’s like Rice

Aston Villa are keeping tabs on a midfielder shining in the Bundesliga

It appears that Aston Villa may have a hectic last day of January transfer business.

 

Unai Emery has moved to expand his offensive options, and they have come to an agreement to sign Middlesbrough

forward Morgan Rogers in a deal that is anticipated to cost £15 million.

The Spaniard will be trying to bolster his team with at least one more new player

when the window closes, especially because they have a busy schedule ahead of them.

Could they shop in a market which Emery knows well? A fresh update has them showing interest in a Bundesliga midfielder who has shone this season…

Aston Villa may make another signing before the window closes

With a deal for Rogers more or less over the line, it could give the former Arsenal manager a boost in his pursuit for more signings.

According to SportBild (via Sport Witness), Villa are keeping tabs on Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios ahead of making a potential late swoop for the player.

Even if he is having a fantastic season in the Bundesliga, Emery may have an advantage over other Premier League teams when it comes to luring him to the Midlands team because they are the only ones named in the article.

 

Villa has experience handling Leverkusen. Before making Moussa Diaby their record acquisition last summer, they signed Leon Bailey back in the summer of 2021. Could this be their third heist of a valuable player from the German club?

Setting a high standard for the 25-year-old’s appraisal, Xabi Alonso has given him a price tag of €60 million (£51 million), which is comparable to the sum that brought Diaby to England.

Douglas Luiz may be nearing the end of his Villa career as the Brazilian is

garnering a lot of attention after his outstanding performances in 2023–2024.

 

If this is the case, Emery should look for a successor as soon as possible, and

going with Palacios might be the best course of action.

Douglas Luiz’s future remains uncertain

The former Manchester City starlet has enjoyed a stunning resurgence at Villa since Emery took over in October 2022.

He recorded six goals and six assists in his first three seasons with the Midlands. But the 25-year-old has improved his attacking acumen since the 2022–2023 season began, and he has been rewarded by scoring 13 goals and providing 12 assists. It is evident that he is growing into a vital member of the team.
Arsenal had interest in the midfield player because to his performance in 2022, but their approaches were turned down. Emery, however, believes that his midfield player is worth more than £100 million, which should scare off any possible buyers.
The 52-year-old Brazilian may decide that a move to Arsenal is the next step in his career if Villa finishes the season outside of the Champions League spots and without winning a title. For this scenario, he needs to be ready.

A move for Palacios makes perfect sense as he could emerge as an excellent replacement for Luiz, while he also could be Emery’s own Declan Rice, such is his playing style.

Exequiel Palacios’ style of play

According to WhoScored, the Argentinian likes to tackle often and plays short passes regularly, aiming to dictate the play during matches, and this combative nature combined with a solid passing ability could see him fit into the Villa midfield.

Although he may not score as often as Luiz, his defensive skills more than make up for it, which is why he is compared to Rice. His talents are throwing, tackling, and ball interception.
Since joining Arsenal from West Ham United this summer, the Englishman has performed admirably, elevating his quality of play, particularly in the Champions League, where he averages a 90% pass success rate each game, wins 65% of his ground duels, and concedes just 7.8 possession losses per game.
Domestic statistics this season Declan Rice Exequiel Palacios
Goals 3 3
Assists 2 3
Accurate passes per game 62.8 82.4
Tackles per game 2.1 2.7
Total duels won per game 4.2 6.5

According to FBref, Rice is currently the fourth-most comparable player to Palacios and, given their respective

defensive and passing abilities, the Leverkusen midfielder could be a major

transfer coup should Villa secure his signature.

This season, the two have comparable numbers in terms of goals and assists

(five apiece), pass success rate per 90 (91.6% vs. 90.6%), shot-creating actions

per 90 (2.67 vs. 2.03), and tackles won (28 vs. 24). This clearly shows that they have

excelled in a variety of position-specific performance metrics.

Furthermore, when compared to positional peers in similar leagues, Palacios currently ranks in the top 1%

for passes attempted per 90 (87.4). He also shows off his skills when compared

to peers in the major European leagues, ranking in the top 4% for tackles per 90

(3.33) and the top 5% for interceptions per 90 (1.71).

Before making his name in Europe in 2019, InsightMrkt’s head of scouting

Andy McGregor praised the midfielder as a “special footballer.” Since then, he has

grown into one of the top players in his position on the continent.

Although £51 million may seem like a lot at first, Emery may need to let go of one or two players to stay in compliance with

financial fair play rules. However, if Luiz is going to leave the team—possibly for a

price above £100 million—then the Argentinean needs to be the best option.

The Spaniard is in the middle of building something big at Villa Park and the ability to secure big profits on players when they are at the peak of their powers along with signing replacements for half the price could be imperative to any future success.

Moving to the Premier League is obviously the next step for the World Cup winner, Palacios, who has proven his mettle in one of the most competitive leagues in Europe.

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