New Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is reportedly keen to bring Villarreal and Spain winger Yeremi Pino with him to the Premier League.
It was announced on Monday that former Arsenal manager Emery would replace Steven Gerrard in the Villa Park dugout.
The Spaniard’s time at the Emirates was disappointing as he was dismissed within 18 months.
Replacing Arsene Wenger was always going to be a tricky job for any manager, and Emery was not up to the task.
In his only full season in charge, the Spanish coach led the Gunners to the Europa League final and finished fifth in the Premier League with 70 points, which would have been enough to finish third in the following two campaigns.
Mikel Arteta replaced Emery as Arsenal boss after club legend Freddie Ljungberg was in caretaker charge.
It has been rumoured that Arteta is a fan of Pino, who has impressed under Emery for Villarreal this year.
No more Aston Villa excuses as the club has a manager to match their standing in Unai Emery
Valued at £36million by Transfermarkt, the 20-year-old has made six appearances for the Spanish national team.
It is believed that Pino has an €80m release clause in his Villarreal contract.
Also linked with a move to Liverpool, it is being reported in Spain that Emery is looking to bring the young forward to Villa Park.
It is no surprise to see a Villarreal player already linked with a move to the Midlands, and Pino will probably be the first of many.
According to Fichajes, Villa are ‘preparing an offer’ after Emery ‘requested the signing’ of Pino.
Villarreal feel they can receive a record fee for the player, valuing him at around €70m.
Having spent so much money in recent transfer windows, it is hard to imagine the Villans splashing out over £60m on a single player.
Moving on from transfer news, Villa have been handed a huge boost with Boubacar Kamara returning to training this week.
It was revealed last month that the French defensive midfielder was ruled out for several months with a knee problem, but it appears that he is way ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Kamara is doing individual work away from the first-team squad but will join up with them on Monday, claims L’Equipe.
This is not only huge news for the club, but for the player, who has aspirations to make France’s World Cup squad.
A four-month injury to Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante has increased Kamara’s chances of being on the plane to Qatar.
His speedy recovery has apparently been assisted by treatment in FIFA’s medical centre in Dubai.
It is said that Kamara had the ‘help of an oxygen chamber called Hyperbaric’.
One Villans player who is apparently unlikely to play at the World Cup is Philippe Coutinho.
After spending the second half of last term on loan at the club, Villa signed Coutinho permanently from Barcelona.
The Brazilian playmaker had a woeful time in Catalonia after joining from Liverpool for over £100m.
He has been unable to rediscover his Reds form in claret and blue, putting his spot in Tite’s Brazil squad in great jeopardy.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, ‘time has run out’ for Coutinho to stake his claim to travel to Qatar.
Despite this report, there are ‘feelings’ in Brazil that Tite will pick the Villa man for old times’ sake.
The 30-year-old has 69 caps for his country, scoring 21 times.
He played for Brazil against South Korea in a friendly in June but was not involved during last month’s international break.
In 11 Premier League games this term, Coutinho has failed to register a single goal contribution.
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