Aston Villa Wanted To Sign This La Liga Winger: Should Emery Go Back For Him? | OneFootball

In a recent report, Sport (via Sport Witness) mentioned that Aston Villa wanted to sign Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli. It is believed that the Villans and Bayer 04 Leverkusen tried to sign the Moroccan wide player next summer.

Ezzalzouli’s Impressive Rise In Spanish Football

Ezzalzouli has caught the eye at times with his performances in the final third. He has found the back of the net three times in 12 matches for the Spanish club thus far across various competitions.

The Moroccan sensation has been a decent performer off the bench as he is averaging 1.5 shots and 0.9 dribbles per 90 minutes in La Liga. He has even been careful when distributing the ball in the opponent’s half based on his pass completion rate of 84.1% in the Spanish top-flight (stats via whoscored).

His current contract at the Spanish club will run out in the summer of 2028. Thus, Aston Villa will have to pay a big fee if they are serious about recruiting the Moroccan wing wizard next year.

Osasuna’s Moroccan forward Abde Ezzalzouli attends a training session at la Cartuja stadium in Seville on May 5, 2023, on the eve of the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) final football match between Real Madrid CF and CA Osasuna. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)

Should Aston Villa Boss Unai Emery Go Back For Ezzalzouli?

Ezzalzouli is a good dribbler with the ball and has got the vision to engineer a few promising chances in the final third. He can even strike the ball purely from long range but is still quite raw and would need time to establish himself as a regular starter in top-flight football.

The talented youngster is primarily a left-winger but can also operate as a right-sided wide player if told to do so. We can expect Ezzalzouli to add more quality and depth to Aston Villa boss Unai Emery‘s squad.

At 21, the Moroccan attacker has the potential to become a future star in European football as long as he continues to improve with each season. Emery has what it takes to nurture Ezzalzouli and unlock the best out of him at Villa Park in the long run.

However, the Real Betis ace might struggle to cope with the physical side and high intensity of Premier League football. Still, the pros outweigh the cons of signing a player of Ezzalzouli’s skillset. Thus, Emery would be wise to go back in for him in 2024.