Aston Villa: Villans keen on Rafinha | OneFootball

An update has emerged on PSG midfielder Rafinha, regarding Aston Villa’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Fichajes, Aston Villa are targeting PSG central midfielder Rafinha this summer as Dean Smith continues to plot additions to his side following the arrivals of Ashley Young and Emi Buendia.

The report claims that PSG are eager to move the Brazilian on following business of their own, bringing in the likes of Gini Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos. Villa could Rafinha for a fee in the region of £8.5m (€10m), with AC Milan and Lazio also interested.

Is Rafinha an upgrade on McGinn?

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Upgrade on McGinn

Johan Lange must ensure that he can get a deal over the line for Rafinha as he could be a significant addition to the squad. He could prove to be an upgrade on John McGinn in the middle of the park and help Dean Smith’s side push on to compete for European football next season, with his heaps of experience at the top level for Barcelona and PSG.

The ex-Barca ace has spent his entire career in La Liga, the Serie A and Ligue 1, whilst also experiencing Champions League football for Barcelona and PSG. He has shown over the course of his career that he is a reliable performer at the elite level of the game, which is why he has been able to play for the aforementioned clubs alongside Celta Vigo and Inter.

Spanish centre-back Andreu Fontas once hailed him as a superb player and praised his physical attributes. He said: “Rafinha is a great player. Physically, he is a beast and, technically, he is superb.”

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The £72k-per-week maestro averaged an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.02 for PSG in Ligue 1 last season, having managed a score of 7.13 in La Liga for Celta Vigo the previous campaign. McGinn, meanwhile, averaged a score of 7.00 in his debut Premier League campaign before regressing to a 6.88 in the 2020/21 season for Villa, playing in 37 of their 38 matches.

This shows that, whilst the Scot is still a good performer, Rafinha would come in and improve Villa’s midfield options. He could create competition for places and potentially even play alongside McGinn, if not Douglas Luiz, whilst upping the quality threshold in that area of the pitch. Therefore, Lange must work hard to make sure he can get a deal over the line for the 28-year-old before the end of the transfer window.

AND in other news, Time to go: Lange must ruthlessly axe £34k-p/w flop, Villa fans would be relieved…