Transfer Not Behind Aston Villa Target Being Omitted From Pre-season Trip | OneFootball

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Aston Villa target Ilaix Moriba has been left out of Celta Vigo’s squad that travelled to Italy, but not due to uncertainty regarding his future at the club.

Strengthening midfield has been on the agenda of the Midlands outfit this summer and the departure of Youri Tielemans, along with Amadou Onana sustaining an ACL injury forced them to step up in the market.

Villa spent big money to hijack Newcastle United’s move for Johan Manzambi and they also managed to agree on a deal with Wolves to sign Joao Gomes.

Unai Emery’s side are still in the market for another midfielder and they have been linked with Celta Vigo’s Moriba, who has gathered interest from several clubs.

The Spanish outfit do not want to stand in the way of Moriba’s departure and Celta Vigo’s sporting director Marco Garces stated recently that they will need a fee close to €30m to sanction the departure of the midfielder.

Aston Villa went in with a bid in the region of €18m, but the La Liga outfit promptly rejected their offer as it failed to meet their expectations.

Amidst the turmoil regarding the 23-year-old’s future, Celta Vigo boss Claudio Giraldez has left him out of the squad that travelled to Italy to face Sassuolo and Napoli in pre-season.

However, according to Spanish outlet Metropolitano.gal, the exclusion of Moriba from the travelling squad was not due to any transfer-related reasons; rather, the decision is based on disciplinary reasons.

The Guinean international arrived late at Ciudad Deportiva Afouteza during the pre-season training sessions and Giraldez and his coaching staff decided to punish the Villa target by making him train on his own at training ground as the team prepare in Italy for their last two pre-season games.

Moriba is the highest earner in the squad which has been a headache for the Celta Vigo hierarchy and it has been suggested that they are willing to reduce their asking price to let him leave.

Even if Villa manage to agree to terms with Celta Vigo regarding fees, they will need to convince Moriba, who fears that he will be a squad option in Unai Emery’s team, on a move to Villa Park.

Moriba initially joined Celta Vigo on loan in 2024 and last summer made his move permanent from RB Leipzig.

He has been a regular for Celta Vigo since his arrival and so far has made 83 appearances for the club and his contract is set run until 2029.