Aston Villa have taken steps to sign CS Emelec’s Luis Fragozo, after including him in their transfer target list. Brighton have also been keen, but Villa have pushed ahead.
The 16-year-old has already managed to attract Aston Villa interest following his rise at Emelec.
He came through the ranks of the Ecuadorian club’s youth system and made his first team debut in April 2025. At that time, the winger was 15 years and 20 days old and became the youngest Liga Pro player.
In September 2025, Fragozo made his debut for Ecuador U15s and played five matches, captaining two of them. In April, his Ecuador U17 debut came against Paraguay during the U17 South American Championship.
This is likely where Aston Villa and Brighton have been scouting him.
Aston Villa keen on young attacker
The youngster has played 1,474 minutes from 40 matches for Emelec, managing a goal and five assists. This includes a goal and four assists from 27 appearances in this calendar year.
Luis Fragozo mainly operated as a left wing-back and in several other attacking positions on a few occasions.
Federación Postera now took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share journalist Nicolas Ayala’s update about Aston Villa.
He reports the Europa League winners are one of the clubs keen on securing the versatile player’s services. Unai Emery’s side have made an approach to find about the conditions needed to sign him. It’s likely they contacted CS Emelec.
There’s no mention of the fee needed to agree a deal for him. Transfermarkt value him at €3m, a massive jump of €2.5m since June.
| Player | Premier League clubs | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Valencia | Wigan Athletic, Manchester United | 325 | 24 |
| Moisés Caicedo | Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea | 152 | 7 |
| Ulises de la Cruz | Aston Villa, Reading | 104 | 2 |
| Pervis Estupiñán | Brighton & Hove Albion | 84 | 4 |
| Enner Valencia | West Ham United, Everton | 75 | 11 |
| Jefferson Montero | Swansea City | 66 | 1 |
| Christian Benítez | Birmingham City | 30 | 3 |
| Felipe Caicedo | Manchester City | 27 | 5 |
| Piero Hincapié | Arsenal | 27 | 1 |
| Juan Carlos Paredes | Watford | 17 | 0 |
| Segundo Castillo | Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers | 17 | 0 |
| Jeremy Sarmiento | Brighton & Hove Albion | 15 | 0 |
| Nilson Angulo | Sunderland | 13 | 1 |
| Agustín Delgado | Southampton | 11 | 0 |
| Fernando Guerrero | Burnley | 7 | 0 |
| Iván Kaviedes | Crystal Palace | 4 | 0 |
| Premier League matches only. Includes substitute appearances. Only clubs where the player made a Premier League appearance are listed. Figures checked on 8 October 2026. |
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Why Aston Villa have to wait
Nicolas Ayala says the Ecuador U17 international is considered as ‘one of the long-term prospects’.
Although the Premier League side have made contact, they won’t be able to bring him to the UK soon. Luis Fragozo will turn 18 years of age in April 2028 and can’t play in the UK until then.
Therefore, Aston Villa or another English club have to wait. However, they can agree a deal with CS Emelec for him to arrive in England in the summer of 2028.
Two months ago, Sport Witness covered a report from Ecuador explaining that Brighton & Hove Albion are in the picture to sign him. The Villans are the latest to join the chase.
Emelec would demand a higher price if more European clubs were to battle for Fragozo’s signature.
El Aston Villa es uno de los equipos que está tras los pasos de Luis Fragozo. El prestigioso equipo de la Premier League habría consultado condiciones por el joven talento del CS Emelec. Es una de las apuestas que interesa a futuro, ya que podría sumarse recién en 2028 cuándo cumpla la mayoría de edad.
ℹ️ @ayalanicolas97
— Federación Postera (@FedePostera) October 7, 2026
