Aston Villa: Mattia Viti, CB for Empoli
While I do agree with the overarching sentiment that Aston Villa need to prioritize the right back position on the transfer market, I also don’t think it would hurt to pursue a U23 talent at the center back position to back up the stalwart tandem of Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres.
There are a number of talented young center backs in Ligue 1 worth monitoring closely during the 2024/25 season in preparation for this coming summer’s transfer window, but I would also like to point out that Serie A has been a quality producer of central defensive talent for the Premier League in recent seasons.
Tottenham have gone to that well successfully, and Aston Villa could do the same. Empoli’s Mattia Viti is a 22-year-old center back who could figure nicely as a third or fourth option before eventually developing into a starting-caliber player for the Lions.
His numbers so far this season in Serie A look solid with 3.3 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, as Viti looks like the next breakout “active” center back in Italian football after Alessandro Buongiorno earned his flowers in the 2023/24 season as Torino’s latest Defender of the Year.
Viti is already outperforming Diego Carlos by a significant margin, and even though he’s only 22, I’d rather trust him with starts in central defense. Empoli are one of the most underrated teams in Europe at developing talent, yet those players remain affordable; Aston Villa could get a bargain with Viti.
Tottenham: Lamine Camara, CM for AS Monaco
Monaco are quietly one of the most exciting teams in world football this season, as they’ve peaked another cycle of talent just as they did a handful of years ago when Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, and Co. led the Monegasques to the Champions League semifinals.
Currently, Monaco are tied on points with the mighty PSG at the top of a suddenly competitive Ligue 1 table, and they might actually have the most complete squad in the league.
Eliesse Ben Seghir is the U21 sensation on everyone’s lips, but the 20-year-old Lamine Camara has honestly been the most impressive prospect on the Red and Whites thus far in 2024/25. In fact, I think he’s been Monaco’s best overall player.
Camara’s stats rate highly next to any midfielder in the league with 1.6 key passes per game, 1.4 fouls drawn per match, 2 goals scored, and 5 combined tackles and interceptions per game.
After not even trying to sign Desire Doue last summer, Tottenham really need to get on the Lamine Camara express before too many teams start to figure out that he’s the next big midfield prospect out of France.
Monaco have a knack for producing top midfielders, and Camara may be an even more impressive prospect than Aurelien Tchouameni, who made his way to Real Madrid after their 2021/22 Champions League triumph – and has since won a Champions League title of his own.
Tottenham still have a gaping hole in the midfield, and Camara would immediately be their best midfield player if signed.
Manchester United: Angelo Stiller, DM for VfB Stuttgart
Angelo Stiller continues to get looks from Hansi Flick and Barcelona, which should tell you a lot about how highly he is rated. Flick doesn’t just go after anyone, especially not in the defensive midfield, and Stiller is the kind of underrated, up-and-coming player Manchester United should be scouting in midfield.
Man United have one of the worst recruitment strategies of any top club in the last decade. They haphazardly sign players who get mentioned a lot in transfer rumors, not realizing they are signing overrated players at bloated prices who are merely propped up by the most active agents.
It’s time Manchester United did their own thinking. Stiller is one of those guys who is still flying under the radar because he is a defensive midfielder in the Bundesliga without a big shot agent like Joshua Zirkzee or Matthijs de Ligt.
Stiller was the unsung hero of the Stuttgart side that finished second above Bayern Munich last season, and he is one of the most consistent and intelligent anchoring midfielders in the world right now.
A club fighting for Champions League football like Manchester United would do well to sign Stiller, especially since they do need one more defensive midfielder to supplement Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte.
Stiller was better than Ugarte last season, and what he lacks in “upside” compared to the former PSG star, Stiller may make up for in terms of his reading of the game and metronomic passing.
Last season, the 23-year-old completed 91 percent of his passes with 5 assists and an average of 1.7 key passes per game. He is an excellent deep-lying playmaker and offers a totally different – and necessary – set of skills to the current crop of Manchester United midfielders.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.