Aston Villa walk away from transfer after €80m asking price – Contact was made, and stance is firm

Sporting Club de Portugal are demanding €80m for Aston Villa target Pedro Gonçalves, a figure the Villans will not be paying.

That’s according to the Ataque supplement of Jornal de Noticias, who say the Portuguese side will only consider selling the forward if he leaves for the value of his release clause.

The newspaper explains that Sporting coach Ruben Amorim has demanded that Gonçalves is part of his squad for next season as he considers him ‘essential’ to his plans moving forwards.

The plan is for him to continue at Alvalade and not join the big names who have already departed this summer or in recent transfer windows.

That’s despite the existence of ‘interested parties’ such as Aston Villa and Inter Milan, both of whom had been keen on a potential deal in this transfer window.

They’ve made enquiries for the player, but Sporting have made it clear they would only consider a deal at the value of his release clause, which is €80m. Neither Aston Villa nor Milan were able to ‘cover that amount’.

One potential sticking point is the fact that Gonçalves wants to be the highest paid player at the Portuguese club, something which will require them going above €1.5m a year.

They are yet to do that and while there’s no suggestion he’ll push for an exit if he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s a potential problem to keep an eye on.

For now, it appears he won’t be leaving Sporting this summer, with Aston Villa and other suitors unable to match the €80m demand made by Sporting.

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Aston Villa have suffered a major setback to their pre-season plans as midfielder Jacob Ramsey is facing up to ten weeks on the sidelines and Leon Bailey has now been handed a Villa Park lifeline as a regular starter.

The 22-year-old has proven a standout performer during England’s march to the Under-21 European Championship finals playing in all four games so far, registering one goal and an assist.

However, the Villa Park maestro hobbled out of Sunday night’s 1-0 victory over Portugal with now what looks like a broken metatarsal injury [The Athletic, 7 July] after a nasty tackle which left him leaving the stadium on crutches.

Ramsey will now miss the start of the 2023-24 season, with Villa beginning their campaign against Newcastle United in five weeks’ time on August 12.

And such news certainly won’t go down well at Aston Villa with boss Emery hell-bent on ensuring his team is well-prepared for their Premier League season-opener.

Ramsey, since Emery’s appointment at Villa Park in November, had become the shining light of the Spaniard’s revolution proving throughout the campaign that he is indeed arguably the Premier League’s most exciting young midfield talent – playing an unfamiliar role on the left side of the Aston Villa attack.

Former Villarreal boss would have been desperate to keep the faith in such an unusual but expansive system at Villa Park after their terrific progress last term, however, Emery will now have to completely alter his plans now, which may hand one first-teamer a chance to impress as a regular now.

With Emery expected to bolster his first-team ranks heavily this summer, many players are nervously waiting on clarification of their future in the West Midlands ahead of the new campaign.

One particular area that Villa are short-staffed in is the wide attacking positions, with Bailey and Bertrand Traore the only two out-and-out wingers that Emery can currently call upon.

However, the former will have been giving Emery clear indications that he is ready to take the attacking mantle should Aston Villa fail to secure any of their top attacking targets before the season kicks off.

The 27-year-old delivered a standout performance for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago recently in a tremendous 4-1 CONCACAF Gold Cup win with a team comprising of the likes of Premier League trio Michail Antonio, Demarai Gray and Bobby Decordova-Reid.

Bailey, who was given an 82-minute outing, was extremely impressive for his nation, picking up a goal and an assist in the victory and showcasing why the 23/24 campaign at Aston Villa could be hugely important for him, not just in his performances but also becoming Emery’s consistent focal point alongside Ollie Watkins, and especially in Ramsey’s absence now.

The former Bayer Leverkusen man has been guilty of some dour and laboured showings throughout his Villa Park career so far but with the Villans suffering from a lack of depth in the attacking department right now, Bailey will almost certainly be handed a lifeline to become a key Emery player.

Against Trinidad, starting in a front two with Antonio, Bailey registered one shot on target, three off target and also managed to spurn two big chances – which will come as a frustration given his struggles in recent months. [SofaScore]

The former Bayer Leverkusen winger also managed 39 touches of the ball and completed 21 of his 24 passes at an 84% accuracy, which is a considerable upgrade on his average of 61.6% over the last year.

This strong showing, which also included a 100% success rate on long balls played and two key passes in the final third, was his second impressive outing in less than a week following the score draw against the USA last Sunday.

While this performance may not have a direct influence on Emery’s decision heading into pre-season, Bailey will be heading into the summer preparations in fine fettle and with great confidence.

With no new attacking faces brought into the club yet this summer coupled with Ramsey’s crushing new injury blow, Bailey is now in the box seat to start as the club’s leading attacker alongside Ollie Watkins.