Aston Villa are starting to feel the tentative strokes of sunshine after avoiding a rather calamitous start to the transfer window, failing to placate PSR and thus entering the 2024/25 campaign with a detrimental points deduction.
Given that Unai Emery fought tooth and nail to qualify for the Champions League with a top-four Premier League finish last season, this would hardly be a fitting narrative for the on-pitch exploits, but sacrifices were required and some academy talent was parted with – alongside high-level midfielder Douglas Luiz, who has now completed his transfer to Juventus.
While the June 30 financial deadline has been and gone, Villa may yet require some further work vis-a-vis outgoings, with Jacob Ramsey still being linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
If the Midlands club's £40m valuation is met, he will likely be allowed to leave, and given that a talented replacement has already been lined up.
Villa lining up Jacob Ramsey replacement
Should Ramsey be sold, capable out on the flank and capable when shuttling forward from a central, probing midfield role, signing a replacement would be a good idea, with Champions League nights on the horizon but sights also set on reproducing the Premier League feats of 2023/24 and challenging across domestic cup competitions too.
That's why Villa are named as one of the teams showing strong interest in Gabri Veiga, as per Spanish reports, who raised eyebrows last summer after signing for Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli, who hijacked his proposed transfer to Serie A champions Napoli from Celta Vigo.
Napoli had agreed a fee in excess of €30m (£25m), and Al Ahli would likely demand something similar to part with the 22-year-old in the coming months.
What Gabri Veiga would bring to Villa
Silky-smooth, athletically robust and aesthetically pleasing, Veiga is a top talent, plain and simple. While his choice to leave his homeland and join the fledgling project in Saudi Arabia was met with surprise by many, his dizzying potential certainly hasn't been negated.
He scored four goals and added three assists across 16 league appearances last season, hampered by an ankle injury, completing 80% of his passes and averaging 11.2 key passes per game.
Praised for his "astonishing technical ability" by journalist Antonio Mango, it feels somewhat criminal that an up-and-coming sensation is not plying his trade in one of football's highest-quality divisions, but Villa could change that with a concerted effort to secure his signature.
Matches played
35
36
Matches started
31
28
Goals
6
11
Assists
7
4
Pass completion
84%
77%
Key passes per game
1.2
0.8
Tackles per game
2.0
1.2
Dribbles per game
0.9
1.1
Duels won per game
4.6
3.9
In fairness, when collating the data, Ramsey and Veiga were not too dissimilar during the 2022/23 campaign – when both played regularly in European football – though Veiga's remarkable eye for goal speaks of his deadliness, actually ranking among the top 2% of midfielders in La Liga that year for goals scored and the top 19% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
Should Emery succeed in assimilating Veiga into his Villa Park system, he could also forge a wonderful partnership with Ross Barkley in the engine room, with the recently-signed midfielder boasting some exciting skills that would allow the Spaniard to shuttle forward and strike on goal with a constant flow of support.
Playing for Luton last season, who were relegated after their impressive promotion to the top flight, the 30-year-old Barkley rekindled his career and then some, averaging 1.5 key passes, tackles and clearances, 2.1 dribbles, 6.3 ball recoveries and 6.1 successful duels per game – as per Sofascore – and leading Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson to call him "not far off player of the season".
His energy and forward-driving style would only serve to fuel Veiga creative backing. Emery would secure a real coup by landing the talented midfielder, who may now be ready to test himself in the Premier League.
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