Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has revealed the key reason they made a move for Alex Moreno in the January transfer window.
Moreno arrived in a €13.5m deal from the Spanish side midway through January as Emery reshaped the squad he inherited from Steven Gerrard.
The full-back had been at Betis since 2019 where he had impressed under Manuel Pellegrini, registering 14 assists and six goals in 122 games.
The move from Aston Villa was something of a surprise one given they are already well stocked at left-back, with Lucas Digne a seasoned Premier League player in that position.
Emery didn’t hesitate to bring the 29-year-old to Villa Park, though, presumably knowing the player well from his time in charge at Villarreal.
And commenting on the deal today, he revealed it was the player’s desire to take on a new challenge which convinced him he was an ideal signing for his Aston Villa side.
“From the first call I had with him, he was very keen to get to know the Premiership and to take on a challenge here,” Notimerica report him saying to DAZN.
“He was also in a great team, playing in Europe but, like me, he identified that it was going to challenge him a lot to face something different and that’s what made us call him.”
