Aston Villa keen on €80m-rated star who has missed 29 games through injury this season | OneFootball

Aston Villa have been linked with a move for the Sporting CP winger Pedro Gonçalves in the past, and recent reports claim that they remain keen on the player.

As per Jornal de Noticias (h/t SportWitness), Unai Emery’s side are keeping close tabs on him.

The 26-year-old has struggled with injury problems this season and he has missed a total of 29 matches in the current campaign. He has a €80 million release clause in his contract, but it is highly unlikely that any club would be willing to pay that kind of money for him after an injury-plagued season.

It will be interesting to see if Aston Villa can negotiate a reasonable deal for him at the end of the season. Gonçalves has shown his quality with Sporting CP prior to his injury blow, and he could prove to be an excellent acquisition for the West Midlands club if he manages to get back to his best after his injury recovery.

He is capable of operating on both flanks and he will add goals and creativity to the side. Aston Villa have been overly dependent on Ollie Watkins in the attack and he needs more support. The 26-year-old could be the ideal acquisition for the West Midlands club.

Aston Villa need to improve their attack

Pedro Goncalves of Sporting CP. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

They will be hoping to secure European qualification for the next season, and it remains to be seen whether they can improve their squad during the summer window. They need to bring in better players if they want to compete at the highest level. Signing a versatile attacker like Gonçalves could prove to be a wise decision.

Convincing the player to join the club should not be difficult. It would be a major step in his career and he would get to test himself in the Premier League. It remains to be seen how the situation unfolds.