Aston Villa, led by sporting director Monchi, have officials at a Champions League game on Wednesday night to watch two players Unai Emery is personally keen on, according to a recent report.
Villa got their own Champions League campaign underway on Tuesday as they brushed Young Boys aside in a comfortable 3-0 win, and the Midlands side are looking to use the competition to scout future transfers.
Aston Villa eyeing free transfer swoop
The Villans have made a strong start to the campaign, winning three of their first four games of the Premier League season, and they have won their opening Champions League match to boot. But that isn’t stopping Emery and co. from looking at the free agent market.
It has been reported that Villa are interested in signing Oumar Solet, who has just become a free agent after having his contract terminated by Red Bull Salzburg on Saturday. The player entered the final year of his contract with the Austrian side, but they have taken it upon themselves to let the defender leave now.
That is said to have put clubs on alert, with Nottingham Forest, Wolves and West Ham also keen, while Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur were said to have looked at the player during the summer, but it remains to be seen if they are still interested.
While Villa weigh up a move for Solet, the Premier League side are now also sending officials out into Europe as they take a closer look at two players participating in the Champions League.
Monchi sends Aston Villa officials to investigate £63m double signing
According to Caught Offside, Aston Villa will have scouts watching Girona pair Viktor Tsygankov and Miguel Gutierrez in tonight’s game against Paris Saint-Germain. As well as Villa having officials at the game, Liverpool and Arsenal are also said to be sending scouts to watch the highly rated duo against the French champions.
The report states that both attacking midfielder Tsygankov and left-back Gutierrez have caught the eye of Emery, and the Spaniard is said to be appreciative of their talents. It goes on to add that while it would put Girona at a disadvantage, as they are two very important players, they would be open to selling the pair if the right offers were to arrive in January.
It is claimed that if both players were to leave, it could bring in over €75 million, which is roughly £63 million. Tsygankov has been with the La Liga side since January 2023, when he joined the club from Dynamo Kyiv, while Gutierrez joined in August 2022 from Real Madrid.
Tsygankov would provide competition for the likes of Morgan Rogers and Leon Bailey, while Gutierrez would add competition to Lucas Digne and Ian Maatsen, who only joined the club in the summer.
