With the Premier League set to be finished over the next month or so, clubs will end up being relegated and promoted as normal.
Among those fighting against the drop in England’s top-tier are Aston Villa, who currently have a game in hand on the rest of their competition.
Dean Smith’s side have been in a tussle towards the bottom of the table for the vast majority of the campaign, and their precarious position has forced an agent to think about the future of one of his players.
That man is Jorge Mendes, and the client in question is Anwar El Ghazi.
Arriving on a full transfer last summer after a loan spell from Lille for the 2018-19 campaign, the Dutchman has done well under Smith’s supervision this year, scoring six goals and assisting another seven in 31 games.
He’s adapted to English football, but after a season in the top-tier, El Ghazi doesn’t intend on playing in the Championship again if Aston Villa fail to stay up.
According to Area Napoli, the plan, for now, revolves around the rest of the season, as Jesús García Pitarch knows he might have to sell several players, but also ‘hopes to retain the best elements’.
Still, Mendes, who also looks after the affairs of Gennaro Gattuso and Faouzi Ghoulam, ‘does not want to be left unprepared’, which is why he is ‘probing the ground’ with clubs ‘close’ to him.
Napoli are one of those, and they are no strangers to El Ghazi, as Area Napoli state he is a player ‘Cristiano Giuntoli and his scouts know well’.
It’s believed he could be bought for around €10m, and there has already been an ‘exchange of information’ with the Serie A side.
That fee seems a bit low, and our guess is they mean that would be the price should Villa get relegated.
We’re not there yet, but you can’t blame Mendes for planning for all possibilities.
