Aston Villa lining up shock move for La Liga stalwart as Mikel Merino alternative

Aston Villa have shown they are not afraid to spend in the transfer market and with Unai Emery at the helm, it appears they are keen to do business in La Liga. They have already made off with one of the best left-backs in the league in Alex Moreno from Real Betis.

Over the weekend they were linked with a massive €65m move for Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino, with Liverpool also interested in him. However a combination of his release clause and La Real’s terrific form, opening the door to Champions League qualification, make a move less probable this season.

However Fichajes say that their second option could be a favourite of Unai Emery’s at Villarreal. Supposedly Villa are willing to pay €12m to take Dani Parejo back to England, fourteen years after he left Queens Park Rangers.

Whether Parejo is interested is yet to become clear. He recently summarised his time with QPR as ‘cloudy’ in an interview with RadioMarca.

There is no doubt that Emery would be well aware of how to get the best from the ice-cold central midfielder. Despite his advancing years, the 33-year-old was running the show against the likes of the Real Madrid last week and Bayern Munich last season. For the Yellow Submarine, it would represent the chance to make money on a player that has little resale value and arrived on a free.

Tags Aston Villa Dani Parejo Liverpool Mikel Merino Real Sociedad Unai Emery Villarreal
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