Deal done! Unai Emery gets one over on Benfica, signs Eagles target | OneFootball

Benfica kept a close eye on the market in search of solutions to strengthen the defensive sector and even identified Taylor Harwood-Bellis, an English centre-back, as one of the options for the position. However, the negotiations did not come to a successful conclusion, and the Eagles ended up looking for an alternative.

Now, the player is set to return to the Premier League in a deal expected to exceed 35 million euros. According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa are finalising the details with Southampton to secure the English centre-back, who had been on Benfica’s radar during the summer transfer window.

The transfer is expected to represent an investment of more than around 35 million euros. Aston Villa are willing to pay more than 29 million euros as a fixed fee, with various bonuses potentially added on top. The third offer submitted by the Villans finally came close to Southampton’s demands, after two previous bids had been rejected.

One of the decisive factors in unlocking the deal appears to have been Unai Emery - who wanted João Palhinha. The Aston Villa manager is said to have played an important role in convincing Harwood-Bellis, after the English club had assessed other possibilities for the heart of the defence, including Joel Ordoñez of Club Brugge and Jean-Clair Todibo of West Ham.

Benfica’s interest emerged at the start of August, when the club’s board was willing to go up to 20 million euros for the defender. Southampton’s demands, however, ultimately pushed the Eagles out of the race and led the structure headed by Rui Costa to move for Alessandro Circati. Harwood-Bellis, meanwhile, is preparing to leave Southampton after an outstanding season in which he played 48 matches.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.