Aston Villa transfers, Monchi outmuscles Sevilla for in-demand Segunda Division defender

Aston Villa president of football operations Monchi is going head to head with his former employers at Sevilla for the signing of Marc Pubill from Levante, reports claim.

Pubill earned plenty of experience during the 2022-23 season after Levante dropped into the Spanish Segunda Division. The right-back made 31 appearances between league and cup outings – more than he had made in his entire career until then.

However, Levante failed to win instant promotion back to La Liga. They finished third in the second tier but failed to make it through the play-offs successfully.

Pubill appears to have done enough to earn a chance in a top flight next term regardless. There have been various claims in recent days that he could be a target for Aston Villa.

In the latest developments, Mundo Deportivo claims that if Aston Villa enter the bidding, they would be backed by more financial power than some of the Spanish suitors for Pubill.

Not that he would be a particularly expensive target. Per the report, the minimum asking price for Pubill will be just €5m (£4.3m).

One stipulation is that Levante would like to retain a decent sell-on clause in case Pubill progresses further at his next club.

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Thus, considering the whole package, Aston Villa might be in a stronger position to secure the signing of the 20-year-old.

According to Mundo Deportivo , their main rivals for the former Spain under-19 international could be Sevilla and their own cross-city foes, Real Betis. Other admirers include Girona, Almeria and Getafe.

Monchi faces former employers in Aston Villa transfer battle

Sevilla, of course, are the club where Monchi used to work as sporting director across two spells. He left them to take up a senior role with Aston Villa this summer.

It appears it has only taken a number of weeks for him to cross paths with his former employers in a transfer battle. And in this case, there is confidence that he can emerge victorious.

That said, Aston Villa are yet to submit any kind of offer for Pubill, who remains under contract with Levante until 2026. His current employers, though, are ready to cash in for the right price in order to raise funds.

They have already turned down a €4m (£3.4m) proposal from another club, so will be waiting to see if Aston Villa – who have Europa Conference League involvement to play for next season – can meet their demands.

As a right-back, he would provide competition alongside Matty Cash and Calum Chambers if he was to join Aston Villa for his first taste of Premier League football.