Aston Villa are ‘closely following’ Sporting Club de Portugal star Pedro Gonçalves, also known as Pote, as he continues to impress this season.
That’s according to Record, who say the player ‘stood out again’ in the Europa League this month and has only added to Aston Villa’s interest in him.
The forward bagged a brace in the 4-0 win over Midtjylland, cementing his status as the Portuguese side’s top goal scorer this season.
He is currently on 16 goals and seven assists in all competitions and, combined the 38 he has scored in the previous two seasons, that makes him one of the Lions’ ‘most desirable’ assets.
Aston Villa have already ‘flagged’ him as a potential reinforcement for the summer and are ‘closely following’ his performances.
Indeed, the reports that they have been receiving on him are ‘very positive’ and advising that they should make a move him as soon as possible.
Those in charge at Villa Park are ‘inclined to invest’ in the squad for Unai Emery and the Sporting number 28 is one of the names that ‘tops the list’ of reinforcements being looked at.
If Aston Villa do make a serious move their interest will be ‘duly addressed’ by those in charge at Sporting but they have set a ‘high negotiation margin’ for any talks.
They can do that as they know the player has a contract until 2026 and that deal includes a release clause worth €80m. Whether they will push for that figure to be met isn’t mentioned but Sporting’s leaders are known to be fierce negotiators when it comes to their players.
The reality is that they will continue that with Gonçalves and push for as much as possible, particularly given that the player’s former club, Famalicão, still own 50% of his rights.
