Aston Villa line up Nuno Tavares as Marcos Acuna alternative

Aston Villa are contemplating making a loan swoop for Arsenal outcast Nuno Tavares should they fail to acquire the services of Marcos Acuna, according to iNews.

With January arrival Alex Moreno currently ruled out through injury, Villa are in the market for a new left-back and have prioritised the signing of Acuna from Sevilla.

However, Unai Emery’s side are not putting all their eggs in one basket and are now also keeping tabs on Tavares.

Tavares spent last season on loan at Olympique Marseille, where he impressed, but the Ligue 1 outfit opted against a permanent move and snapped up Renan Lodi instead.

Nottingham Forest recently expressed interest in signing Tavares, but negotiations between the two parties have since broken down, leaving the Portuguese player uncertain of his immediate future.

Even though there is still a chance Tavares stays at Arsenal to fill in at left back after Jurrien Timber’s injury and Kieran Tierney’s rumoured departure from the team, Tavares is expected to leave, at least temporarily.

His agent, Cesar Boaventura, has, however, claimed that the 23-year-old wants to stay at the Emirates Stadium.

“Nuno is still under contract at Arsenal; he wants to stay in the team,” Boaventura told Turkish journalist Tibet Tore.

“We’ll see what happens in the future.”

A move to Villa Park could now represent his best exit route, amid interest from several Italian and German sides.

Villa could very well do with reinforcements at the back, having shipped five in the Premier League curtain-raiser against Newcastle United last time out.

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