Unai Emery has completely transformed Aston Villa’s fortunes since arriving just shy of two years ago.
Aston Villa are back in the Champions League this season and look like genuine challengers for the top four, once again.
Their recruitment has been near perfect during his reign, with Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers notable examples.
Now, it has just come to light, that Villa are already eying a striker on the continent ahead of the January transfer window.
Aston Villa keeping close tabs on Santiago Castro
According to Wednesday’s print edition of Corriere dello Sport (16/10/2024), Aston Villa are keeping close tabs on Bologna striker Santiago Castro.
Though, they aren’t alone in their interest, as Premier League rivals Chelsea, Everton and Arsenal are also interested in Castro.
The 2004-born striker has burst onto the scene in Serie A this season having netted three times whilst laying on an assist in seven outings.
A January switch is unlikely, so if Villa are to land his signature, it’ll likely be in the summer.
Castro likened to Romelu Lukaku
Castro’s FBref data suggests he’s of a similar profile to Romelu Lukaku – who was of interest to Villa in the summer.
| Similar players to Santiago Castro |
| Olivier Giroud (Los Angeles FC) |
| Jean-Phillippe Mateta (Crystal Palace) |
| Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig) |
| Romelu Lukaku (Napoli) |
| Andrea Belotti (Como) |
Clearly, Emery is eager to add a physical centre-forward to his ranks, with Castro standing at around 6ft tall.
Though, Jhon Duran’s profile isn’t too dissimilar to that, so it remains to be seen if Villa will formalise their interest in the Argentinian.
Duran has just penned a new deal at Aston Villa – so he’s not expected to depart this winter despite interest from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.