Aston Villa could 'seize a last-minute opportunity' to sign Barcelona winger Raphinha before the transfer deadline passes on Friday, with Unai Emery reportedly intent on adding attacking reinforcements.
Throughout the final weeks of the window Villa have been mooted with seeking out firepower that can support Ollie Watkins, especially since Moussa Diaby exited the club to move to Saudi Arabia. For a time Joao Felix seemed to be the answer, though he has ultimately joined Chelsea on a permanent basis and closed down that avenue.
This specialist role will not be easy to fill, nor can Emery place such a burden solely on 22-year-old Morgan Rogers with Premier League, Champions League and cup competitions all to consider over the next several months. But now there have been a number of names suggested as late signings this window, chief amongst them Raphinha.
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This is according to CaughtOffside, who claim the Brazilian is on the club's radar at this critical time. He bares similarities to Diaby in that he is a natural winger Villa would look to deploy in tandem with their star striker.
Raphinha will be remembered in England for his two-year spell with Leeds United between 2020 and 2022. During that time he made 67 appearances, scored 17 goals and provided 12 assists, ultimately earning a £48.9m switch to Spanish giants Barca. Over there he has added 20 goals and 27 assists to his record, this time in the space of 90 outings.
They also claim that Villa have assessed many strikers, not just Raphinha, over the summer months. Namely Karim Adeyemi, Tammy Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are said to have been the subject of internal discussions.
Also interestingly, Villa's search for an attacker like Raphinha would supposedly come at the expense of signing a defender before 11pm on Friday night. This goes against the grain as most prominently this week Villa have found themselves linked with Lutsharel Geertruida of Feyenoord again, in the wake of Matty Cash's recent injury.
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