Aston Villa are on the precipice of qualifying for the Champions League next season, having created some distance between themselves and Tottenham in fourth.
The next task for the Lions will be fortifying the squad with world-class talent who can elevate the team at the Champions League level and help Unai Emery continue to progress what has been one of Europe’s most impressive projects in 2024.
According to a report from Diario AS, Aston Villa are focusing on a major midfield upgrade as a potential summer 2024 signing, as they are one of the clubs interested in signing Girona star Aleix Garcia.
The 26-year-old could end up being the biggest bargain of the transfer window, because he has a release clause worth just 15-20 million euros.
Funnily enough, Barcelona had been heavily linked to Garcia, including this past winter, but it appears they are no longer interested in the world-class midfielder for some bizarre reason.
Garcia is one of the best defensive midfielders in European football and has been since breaking out at the beginning of the 2022/23 season for a rising Girona side.
Now, Girona are headed to the Champions League themselves with Garcia as the best player on a team studded with top young stars.
Garcia is a strong defensive presence and anchoring point for Girona, facilitating play and breaking up opposing attacks. And yet he is also an effective technician and deep creator, recording three goals and six assists in the 2023/24 season.
Aston Villa have some quality midfielders in Douglas Luiz and John McGinn, but they do need more depth and one more legitimate top-class starter at the Champions League level.
For just 20 million euros, Aston Villa could sign one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and, in doing so, have Unai Emery make another strong point to Barcelona that they missed out on a talent who could have changed their Champions League fortunes, too.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.