Unai Emery is weighing up a move for Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez. The 27-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester United, Roma and Juventus but Emery and Aston Villa believe they stand a good chance of signing the Spanish international.
The Real Sociedad midfielder, who has been capped 4 times by his country so far, scored 8 goals and produced 9 assists in 44 games across all competitions last season. Mendez had a superb season, often playing in centre midfield but possessing the ability to play out wide also. Mendez scored in each of Sociedad's first three Champions League games last season and proved to be one of the best players in the competition prior to their exit at the hands of Paris St Germain the Round of 16.
The Express claims that Villa have made an initial enquiry with regards to Mendez's availability this summer. The player signed a six-year deal with Sociedad only two years ago following his move from Celta Vigo. However, it is believed that the Spanish club, despite wishing to keep the player, will not turn down an offer that meets their demands.
Unai Emery is a man with history of bringing players to the Premier League from La Liga and he is once again keen to do so this summer. Having brought Pau Torres to the club last summer and Alex Moreno the season before, it is obvious that Emery has a great ability of developing players from his own country.
Mendez was unfortunate to have not done enough to claim selection for the Spanish squad at the European Championships and it is thought that a move to the Premier League, and to a Champions League club like Villa, would help to put him back in the frame for the national squad.
Aston Villa's top four finish last season has provided the exciting promise of Champions League football to potential signings, something the club have not had before. Villa have already been very busy in the early stages of the transfer window as they look to raise the funds needed to comply with the PSR restrictions and July will see them look to expand their squad further with more flexibility over funds.
The table below shows how Mendez compared to a selection of Villa midfielder last season.
League stats | Brais Mendez | Douglas Luiz | Moussa Diaby | Youri Tielemans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Goals | 5 | 9 | 6 | 2 |
Assists | 6 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
Key passes | 41 | 51 | 46 | 18 |
Pass completion | 80.94% | 88.94% | 82.29% | 85.99% |
Tackles | 42 | 56 | 12 | 41 |
Interceptions | 12 | 23 | 8 | 13 |
With Douglas Luiz heading to Juventus, Mendez would prove to be a significant signing in the Villa midfield and would provide excellent competition for new signing Ross Barkley. Villa are also likely to sign midfielder Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus as part of the deal that sees Luiz go the other way.
UTV