Aston Villa are preparing an offer for former Arsenal loanee and current Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, according to reports.
The Villans have already reinforced their midfield options by signing Youri Tielemans this summer, and are now reportedly looking towards the La Liga giants to bolster their squad even further.
Is Dani Ceballos signing for Aston Villa?
The Midlands club are set to offer Real Madrid £15m for the 13-cap Spain international at the request of manager Unai Emery, according to Spanish outlet Diario Sport.
It comes as little surprise to see Villa reportedly so willing to splash the cash, given that they've not been shy when it comes to spending so far this summer, welcoming Moussa Diaby, Tielemans, and Pau Torres for a reported combined fee of €88m (£76m).
Now, it seems as though they're turning their attention to Ceballos, who previously impressed during a loan spell at Arsenal in the 2019/20 season.
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It wasn't so long ago that Villa were struggling in the bottom-half of the Premier League table under Steven Gerrard. One mid-season managerial change later, however, and Europa Conference League football beckons for a side now in a position to target Real Madrid's Champions League winning stars. It has been some turnaround at Villa Park.
Should Aston Villa sign Dani Ceballos?
If Aston Villa see their reported £15m bid accepted for Ceballos, then it is a deal worth taking the risk on. The Spaniard may have struggled to fully establish himself at the Santiago Bernabeu, but a move back to the Premier League could see him rediscover his best form, especially under compatriot Emery.
And if Villa can get the best out of Ceballos, then a £15m deal may well become the bargain of the summer in English football. Likely paired with Tielemans and Douglas Luiz, the Midlands club could have themselves one of the best midfield trios outside the Premier League's traditional big six.
Indeed, when compared with his positional peers across the top five European leagues, Ceballos ranks in the 93rd percentile for assists per 90, 97th percentile for pass completion and 99th for successful take-ons, creative skills which could be complemented by Tielemans' box-to-box role and Luiz's defensive attributes.
The midfielder received plenty of praise when on loan at Arsenal, with Tony Cascarino saying in his column in The Times: "Dani Ceballos impressed me. He has a bit of everything: tenacity, technical ability, and he wore the shirt as if he was an Arsenal player from 15 years ago. It felt like he really wanted to show his hunger to play and Arsenal have missed that enormously in midfield recently.
“He showed what he is about. He is on loan so Arsenal will have to hope he doesn’t do too well, meaning they can’t sign him.”
Ahead of the forthcoming campaign, Villa look stronger than they have in a long time. Under Emery, they could reach new heights, with fresh faces, potentially including Ceballos, playing a large part in that.
It remains to be seen whether the Villans' reported incoming bid will be accepted by Real Madrid, however.
