Aston Villa can sign centre-midfielder Matteo Guendouzi in January, claims Luke Edwards.
Edwards said that Guendouzi’s relationship with Villa boss Unai Emery makes the deal more of a reality with the Spaniard previously signing him for Arsenal.
The 23-year-old joined the Gunners back in 2018 and following two loan spells at Hertha Berlin and Marseille, the French side eventually made the deal permanent at a cut-price £10m.
Mikel Arteta swiftly moved the 23-year-old on after an infamous incident in a controversy-filled clash vs Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020 in which the Frenchman grabbed Neal Maupay by the throat and was alleged by The Sun to have taunted the Seagulls players over his wages.
He’s now reported by BirminghamLive to become the Villans’ next winter signing but Marseille are reportedly holding out for a deal worth up to €50m (£43.5m) with Edwards saying on Transfer Gossip Daily that he’s a great addition if he’s straightened his behaviour out.
(8:39) “I can see it happening and if he’s grown up but we all make really stupid decisions, I say stupid things now and I’m old enough to know better.”
“I think Villa could be getting a really, really good player.”
“He’s done really well, he’s still only 23, Emery signed him for Arsenal, he obviously thinks he can get the best out of him and I still think there’s potentially a really, really good player in there for Aston Villa.”
TIF Thoughts on Edwards’ comments…
Aside from not being valued as a good influence in Arteta’s side, Guendouzi never seemed to fall short on the footballing side with his 82 appearances in two years in North London making him a consistent fixture of the side until he was dropped following the Maupay incident.
He’s since played 79 times for Marseille and bagged eight goals and 18 assists from the middle of the park, his impressive return doesn’t stop there with him in the top 17% for assists amongst midfielders over the past year (via FBref).
Villa are lacking a reliable all-round midfielder with a creative edge with both Emi Buendia and Philippe Coutinho failing to assist in the league.
At £43.5m he’s certainly a player with bags of talent but Villa won’t want to be spending that money on a player who potentially hasn’t moved on from his petulant behaviour at Arsenal.