Aston Villa have one of the best center back partnerships in the Premier League between Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres, the former impressing at the Euros for England and the latter impressing everywhere he goes despite a relative lack of fanfare.
The Lions are set with their starters at center back, but with ambitions to compete in the Champions League this season and repeat their qualification for next season, Aston Villa know that it takes a lot more than good starters to put together a winning side every year in the Premier League, especially with the additional gruel of Champions League games.
As Aston Villa continue to look for more attacking options to help the current crop, led by Premier League Player of the Season candidate Ollie Watkins at striker, Unai Emery and Co. are also looking for one more center back to fill the squad out.
According to a report from The Athletic, versatile Liverpool center back Joe Gomez has caught the eye of Aston Villa as a possible transfer target, but the Reds are currently asking for a steep price of 45 million pounds.
Gomez is a quality center back and right back who excels at one-on-one defending and is, like the rest of his Liverpool teammates, adept when playing the ball out of the back.
Though he can be a big streaky, Gomez is an ideal utility backup for a team competing in the top four of the Premier League, so you may wonder why Liverpool would be opening to selling him if they are already making a tidy profit off Brentford-bound center back Sepp van den Berg.
Gomez is entering the prime of his career at the age of 27, and he could even start at right back for Aston Villa over Matty Cash. If Villa could somehow get Liverpool to cut their asking price in half, they’d be all over this.
But, alas, Liverpool have no reason to give any discounts to another Premier League club in the top four, so Aston Villa may end up having to look elsewhere in center defense.
