Although their fate is yet to be decided in pursuit of Champions League football, Aston Villa have already reportedly reached the closing stages of negotiations to sign one particular star.
Aston Villa's late push to secure Champions League football
Aston Villa have hit form at the perfect time and could yet be in a position to take full advantage in the final two games of the Premier League season. Victory over Bournemouth last time out made it four wins in their last five league games in a run that includes a 4-1 thrashing of top five rivals Newcastle United. Now, with two games remaining, Unai Emery’s side only sit behind Chelsea on goal difference.
Liverpool (C)
83
46
Arsenal
68
33
Newcastle United
66
23
Manchester City
65
24
Chelsea
63
19
Aston Villa
63
7
Nottingham Forest
62
12
With Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United to play – two sides who have nothing to play for following disastrous Premier League campaigns – there’s every chance that Villa could yet sneak into the Champions League places in dramatic fashion.
Emery reiterated that Aston Villa must keep going after victory at Bournemouth, telling reporters: “It’s very good. I’m very happy and proud but we can’t stop now. We have to keep going.
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“We got Europe last week against Fulham at home and today against Bournemouth, teams that are competing very well and performing very well. They were fighting with us as their opponent.
“They were an opponent for us to get Europe. Now we’re in the run in with the teams fighting for Champions League after the way we did last week and the win we did today. We’re deserving to play the next match against Tottenham having the possibilities to be there, taking even more in Europa League or Champions League.”
Aston Villa closing in on Asensio deal
Away from the action on the pitch, meanwhile, those in the Midlands have already reportedly set their sights on their first reinforcement of the summer. According to Estadio Deportivo, as relayed by Sport Witness, Monchi is now in the closing stages of a deal to sign Marco Asensio on a permanent basis for Aston Villa this summer.
The Villans are reportedly set to offer Paris Saint-Germain around €15m (£13m) to sell the Spaniard in a deal that Emery is reportedly personally pushing Monchi to complete. Given that PSG are keen to sell Asensio too, it seems likely that Villa will be in the perfect position to secure their move.
Asensio certainly has plenty of fans around the Midlands following a successful loan spell. And Emery is among those fans, having told reporters when questioned on the winger’s quality: “For him as well, it is a very huge challenge, to show here his capacity to help us. But every match, of course, he is doing a fantastic job, and his adaptation was going very quick.”
