‘No shortage of problems’ to sign Aston Villa player in January – Monchi and Emery stance could be key

Aston Villa’s Clément Lenglet has been restricted to only five appearances in the UEFA Conference League since arriving at the club on loan from Barcelona in the last window.

Three days ago, Calciomercato stated the Rossoneri have contacted the La Liga side to try to strike a deal for the defender next month. Later that day, MilanNews.it reported it isn’t clear if the Villans are willing to cut short his loan stay.

Journalist Niccolò Ceccarini, writing in his column for TuttoMercatoWeb, provides the latest on the Serie A side’s pursuit of the Aston Villa player.

Stefano Pioli’s side are looking for a new centre-back in January and are ‘evaluating’ the possibility of securing the 28-year-old’s services. He’s viewed as an ‘excellent solution’ but ‘there is no shortage of problems’ to take him away from Villa Park.

An agreement has to be reached with Unai Emery’s side to terminate the defender’s loan deal in the winter market and this is the first problem. If this were to be achieved, Milan will then have to agree a deal with Barcelona.

Ceccarini claims Milan are aiming for a loan deal with an option to buy and want Barca to ‘lend a hand with salary’, meaning cover part of Lenglet’s salary. This is another problem for the San Siro club.

In short, Aston Villa, led by Emery and Monchi, need to be convinced for Milan to stand a chance of signing the former Sevilla man in the winter market.