Aston Villa are in the race to sign a new central player in January, but they aren’t the only club hoping to bring him to the Premier League.
Aston Villa transfer news
Ahead of 2024, NSWE, Monchi and Unai Emery will be assessing their options in the market and have most recently been linked with moves for Palmeiras defender Joaquin Piquerez and Sporting CP forward Pedro Goncalves, but they are also looking to bolster their ranks in the centre of the park.
The Midlands outfit already have Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Tim Iroegbunam as their options in central midfield, but that hasn’t stopped the boss from wanting to increase his numbers in that position during the upcoming window.
Over in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios has firmly established himself as Xabi Alonso’s second best-performing defensive player so far this season (WhoScored – Bayer Leverkusen statistics), and the 25-year-old’s impressive form seems to have caught the eye of the hierarchy at Villa Park.
Aston Villa interested in Exequiel Palacios
According to TEAMtalk, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios is of interest to Aston Villa in January, and his club are "fearing" possible bids from England's top flight.
“Bayer Leverkusen are fearing bids in January for their midfield star Exequiel Palacios, with a host of Premier League clubs checking on the Argentina international, according to TEAMtalk sources.
"Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are amongst the sides looking at the 25-year-old, but TEAMtalk can reveal there is also interest from England. We understand that Manchester City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa have all watched him in recent months and have been hugely impressed.
"Bayer, though, are insistent that they don’t want to lose any of their star men in January as they are making a real push for the Bundesliga title.”
Whilst Palacios is naturally a central midfielder, Bayer’s star is much stronger in the defensive aspect of his game where he currently ranks in the 97th percentile for interceptions and the 96th percentile for tackles, highlighting his desire to get stuck in and win back possession for his team (FBRef – Palacios statistics).
When Argentina’s international does retain the ball, he’s extremely calm and composed, recording a 91.9% pass success rate (WhoScored – Palacios statistics), form which has seen him described as a “fantastic” player by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Likes to tackle
Likes to play short passes
Gets fouled often (Data via WhoScored)
The BayArena’s £28k-per-week earner (Bayer Leverkusen salaries), is also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch having posted 28 contributions in the final third, 20 goals and 18 assists, in 184 appearances since the start of his career (Transfermarkt – Palacios statistics).
Palacios already knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level having secured seven trophies throughout his professional career, the most notable being winning last year’s World Cup with Argentina, so he would be able to match and even improve the winning mentality of the current squad who are already at Aston Villa.