Aston Villa Eyeing £67m Move to Sign ‘Special’ Champions League Star for Emery

Aston Villa have reignited their interest in Sporting CP midfielder Pedro Goncalves to bolster Unai Emery’s squad after watching him in Champions League action this week, according to A Bola.

The Portugal international starred while featuring for the Portuguese champions in their 4-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, as manager Ruben Amorim waved farewell to the club’s fans in his final home game before taking over at Manchester United.

But the playmaker’s performance stood out, alongside hat-trick hero Viktor Gyokeres, and Villa chiefs are now likely to step up their interest after considering making a move to sign him during the summer transfer window.

Aston Villa Eye Move for Goncalves

Pote has £67m release clause

According to the report, the club were considering making a £33m offer in the summer but Sporting blocked the move and refused to even consider a sale after managing to convince Amorim to stay at the club, as they wanted to keep the squad at it’s strongest at that point.

However, with Amorim moving on now speculation is rife that key Sporting players could be open to an exit too, and after Villa sent scouts to watch Goncalves against Man City they could look to bring him in to bolster Emery’s squad.

Goncalves currently has a €80m release clause in his contract which runs until 2027, which converts to around £67m, but the current attacking positions in the squad are filled quite well with Jaden Philogene, Emi Buendia, Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey all supporting Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins.

Sporting are adamant they won’t sell any key players in the January transfer window as they look to continue their good form despite Amorim’s exit, but the release clause means they won’t have much control if a club decide to pay up – in a similar way to how they lost their manager last month.

Goncalves, who has been described by Amorim as “special”, has had a fantastic season so far this year with five goals and six assists in 11 appearances in all competitions.

Statistics courtesy of Sofascore – correct as of 07/11/2024.