The glaring £12m transfer blunder Aston Villa must avoid this summer

Far be it from me to question the inner machinations of a footballing brain as astute as Unai Emery’s, but sometimes even the most reliable of genius can embark on some pretty inexplicable ventures. Since the affable Spaniard succeeded Steven Gerrard as Aston Villa manager last season, the club has, by and large, enjoyed the benefits of a steady upwards trajectory. For the purposes of this argument, we’ll choose to ignore their recent opening day spanking at the hands of Newcastle United.

And in fairness to Emery, that early prosperity has extended beyond the confines of the pitch and into the transfer market too. Already this summer, Villa have completed deals for the likes of Moussa Diaby, Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres, and Nicolo Zaniolo. I believe that might be what you call a statement of intent.

But if certain mutterings are true, then the Villans are not finished with their business just yet. In particular, it is understood that Emery is eager to reinforce the left side of his defence. Reports in France suggest that Lucas Digne could be edging ever closer to an exit, while Argentine bruiser and World Cup winner Marcos Acuna is being touted as his potential replacement.

In the event of a deal for the South American collapsing, however, the Daily Mail suggest that talks are underway between Villa and Arsenal over an agreement that would take Gunners outcast Nuno Tavares to the Midlands. This is where the eyebrow raises and you find yourself asking if Unai is feeling okay.

The attack-minded full-back signed for Arsenal in 2021, and since then has struggled to make any kind of meaningful impression on the first team at the Emirates. A relatively paltry 28 appearances bled into a mixed loan stint with Marseille last term; while the 23-year-old would feature frequently and hit six goals across all competitions in France, he would also clash with manager Igor Tudor, who reportedly ousted him from training at one stage for showing a lack of effort.

It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that his parent club are seemingly so open to the prospect of selling him this summer. Prior to Villa’s apparent interest, a transfer to Nottingham Forest looked all but assured, only for that deal to unceremoniously collapse, opening the door for Emery to swoop.

But again, you find yourself wondering if Tavares is really the best Villa can do. In a window that has already yielded so much, should a club of their ambitions be settling for a player who can’t even sneak his way onto Arsenal’s bench at the present moment in time?

Compared to fellow target Acuna, for instance, he made fewer tackles, interceptions, clearances, key passes, and recorded a lower overall pass completion rate while being dispossessed considerably more in league competition last season. In fact, the only areas in which Tavares outstrips the Argentine are in his dribbling and his shooting - and you can’t imagine that Emery is prioritising a goal threat when seeking a suitable left-back.

At the age he is, and with the pedigree he boasts, there is evidently a talent in there somewhere, but it is one that comes with a certain amount of risk attached, and at this stage, you would like to think that Villa are past the point of hopeful punts when it comes to their recruitment strategy.

The understanding is that Arsenal will seek a fee of around £12 million for Tavares in the coming days. For their part, Sevilla - Acuna’s current employers - could be persuaded by a bid of around £13 million. That in itself should make Villa’s mind up for them.

Perhaps Emery, with his wonderful footballing brain, sees something in Tavares that others thus far, for the most part, have not. But if the option is there to bring in another, more experienced, statistically-better player ahead of him, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see why that might be a good idea.