Mick Brown

Mon 27 January 2025 15:55, UK

Aston Villa are preparing a formal offer to sign Villarreal defender Juan Foyth before the transfer deadline, according to their former scout.

Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected at Villa Park and also worked as the chief scout at Man United and Blackburn, exclusively told Football Insider that Unai Emery is personally pushing for the deal to get over the line.

This comes after the boss confessed the 27-year-old “is one player, with his quality, who can united and play with the qualities and the performance we want to add in the squad.”

Having worked with the defender during his time with the Yellow Submarine, Emery has played a big part in negotiations to convince him of a return to the Premier League.

With one week remaining until the 3 February transfer deadline, Villa are now expected to accelerate talks as they are determined to strengthen their squad this month.

They were also dealt an added blow when Tyrone Mings limped off during the 1-1 draw with West Ham, and Football Insider have since revealed they will push to sign two new defenders as a result.

Aston Villa accelerate Juan Foyth signing after new twist

Brown told Football Insider in December that Villa were putting plans in place to sign a “top-class” centre-back during the January window.

The former scout, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted that Foyth’s previous work with Emery will aid his transition into the Villa side.

“Losing Mings was a huge blow,” he told Football Insider.

“After losing Carlos as well, they’re down to just two centre-halves.

“So I think, before the window closes, they’re going to step up their efforts to sign a new player there.

“Juan Foyth is a name that’s come up recently.

“Emery knows him and that’s a big thing – he’ll know about his qualities and whether he’ll be a good fit for their squad and for the Premier League.

“He’s best placed to know his qualities and if he wants him, he’ll be pushing that through.

“It means he can play a part in convincing him to make the move as well.

“So it seems he’s definitely one they’ll be working on before the window closes and I think, with the manager talking about it publicly, there’ll be a bid in soon.”

In other news, Villa “could sell Jhon Duran for £100m and sign Victor Osimhen” – expert.

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