Aston Villa can beat Barcelona to the signing of Ez Abde this summer, as the Catalans aren’t interested in pursuing the player at the current asking price.
Sport report that it is ‘highly unlikely’ that Abde and Barcelona will cross paths again because of the interest from the likes of Aston Villa.
Aston Villa’s clear path
The newspaper explains that Ez Abde is not a priority for Barcelona’s sporting management this summer. They are exploring other options, including keeping Marcus Rashford.
A recent report from Diario de Sevilla indicated that Newcastle and Aston Villa are both interested in the 24-year-old.
Betis are open to selling to the highest bidder to secure a significant profit on the player. And the emergence of the Premier League duo has made Barcelona less likely to move.
They would have considered a deal if it was financially advantageous, which would have seen them valuing the player at around €30m. As they own 20% of his rights, that means he would have cost them around €24m.
But his price tag could be higher so Barcelona would prefer to see him sold at that higher price and take their cut of it. Betis value the winger at around €40m. Barcelona have also not rule out the possibility of selling the 20% they own to Betis just to bring in money. It is something they’ve done before.
What would Aston Villa pay?
Either way, the Catalan giants have no intention of competing with Aston Villa or anybody else for Ez Abde this summer.
The La Liga champions, at this moment in time at least, are walking away from any potential deal and instead waiting to see what happens and how much they can profit it from it.
The question is whether Aston Villa will pay anywhere close to €40m. Given their tight finances in recent years, even with Champions League football, it’s hard to see that happening this summer.
