It promises to be another busy summer transfer window for Aston Villa, who must navigate PSR issues in order to do their business. It will not be possible for all of Unai Emery’s players to stay, and in terms of one squad member, his days are almost certainly numbered.
In order to give themselves an increased chance of achieving their goals in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, Villa make significant signings in January. And one of those was Marco Asensio, who arrived on loan from PSG.
The former Real Madrid attacker has impressed since moving to Villa Park, with eight goals scored across all competitions in 18 appearances. But despite this, it looks like it will not be enough to keep him at Aston Villa.
Speaking to Football Insider, former scout Mick Brown has confirmed that Aston Villa do not plan to sign Asensio on a permanent basis – despite having impressed since joining on loan in January.
“Asensio will go back to PSG. He’s a very talented player, but they’re concerned he might have lost his legs a bit. Villa create situations and he can get involved, he’s got that quality and ability to make a difference in the final third whether it’s scoring or creating. The issue is, he can’t be in those positions where he can make the difference for 90 minutes.
“Like I say, he’s extremely talented, but I think Villa want somebody with a bit more energy. They want to play at a high tempo, and the signings of Rashford and Malen have injected that pace into the team which Asensio lacks. Ideally, they’d have somebody who can give them that drive and creativity together, so if they can bring in somebody like that then they will.”
It has been reported in recent weeks that Asensio has had a better chance of staying at Aston Villa than fellow loanee Marcus Rashford, so these developments could throw more doubt on the situation of the Man United man as it could now be claimed that he could also fail to secure a permanent stay at Villa Park.
