Aston Villa Must Convince Star Who ‘Fears’ Squad Role If He Joins Villans | OneFootball

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Aston Villa remain keen to land midfielder Ilaix Moriba, but the Celta Vigo man ‘is not pushing to make the move happen’ due to ‘fears he would only be a squad man’, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

Despite just splashing €64m to bring in Switzerland World Cup star Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, Villa could soon really take the shackles off in the market.

They are set to bring in over €137m from selling Morgan Rogers to Chelsea in a move which will see cash flood into the Villa Park coffers.

Fringe players could be offloaded to further swell that amount, though Lucas Digne’s exit is expected to be an unwelcome one, even if Aston Villa are close on Pervis Estupinan to replace him.

Midfield continues to be an area of attention at the club and Villa have held an interest in Celta Vigo midfielder Moriba for several weeks.

They have made an offer of around €18m to Celta Vigo for the midfielder, but the Spanish side have rejected that proposal.

Even if Aston Villa could thrash out a fee with Celta Vigo then they would have to convince Moriba to make the move.

He is not pushing for a switch to Villa Park to happen as he fears if he did join the Premier League side then he would only be a squad option.

The Guinea international only missed two La Liga games with Celta Vigo last season, while he ended the season with a total of 48 appearances across all competitions to his name.

At Aston Villa there would be no guarantees he would become a key man, while at Celta Vigo he is regarded as an important part of the side.

It is unclear how much Aston Villa might need to offer to have a bid accepted, but earlier this month it was suggested Celta Vigo’s asking price was around €30m.

Given how much Aston Villa are set to bank from selling Rogers, Celta Vigo may well be encouraged to hold out.

A big push to sign Moriba was put in by Tottenham Hotspur in 2021, but he chose to join RB Leipzig.

His time at RB Leipzig did not go well, with loans back to Spain at Valencia, Getafe and Celta Vigo all sealed while on the books in Germany.

Back in La Liga permanently, Moriba has kicked on and made himself a desirable target once again.