A little earlier, we covered claims from Turkey which explained Monchi has stopped Diego Carlos moving to Fenerbahce until he can find a replacement for Aston Villa.
The Brazilian defender has had his flight departure delayed multiple times and it’s unsure when, or if, he’ll actually set off for Istanbul this week.
This all appears to be related to a battle of wills, and a duel of pride, between Monchi and Victor Orta. The Aston Villa transfer chief is something of a legend in the role at Sevilla, and Orta has struggled to fill those very big boots.
Orta, who wasn’t universally praised for his spell at Leeds United, has been the subject of criticism for some his recruitment at the Spanish club and there’s obviously fans looking back to the great days of Monchi.
That must sting ever so slightly for Orta.
So, when Monchi turns up wanting to sign Loïc Badé, Sevilla’s best defender and arguably most valuable player, he’s hardly going to make it easy.
Monchi will be well aware of this. That’s potentially why Carlos was grounded, to help the Aston Villa negotiating position. They don’t want to look too desperate for Badé.
Marca now report Aston Villa don’t intend to spend the €30m Sevilla are asking for, so Monchi is ‘opening up to a range of alternatives he has in his portfolio’.
Now it may be case of who blinks first. Poor Diego Carlos and his private jet pilot will just hope somebody does so soon.
