Aston Villa have announced the signing of full-back Andres Garcia from Spanish side UD Levante. He has joined the Midlands club for £7million pounds.
Having made his debut for Levante back in 2022, Andres Garcia, 21, racked up a further 46 appearances for the club, scoring four goals. He has become a regular in the Levante side this season, bagging three goals and as many assists in 22 appearances.
The Spaniard has predominantly featured at right-back but has also at times operated on the right flank. Garcia is Aston Villa’s second signing of the January transfer window following the arrival of Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund last week.
Andres Garcia will act as cover for Matty Cash
Matty Cash has been Villa’s undisputed right-back under Unai Emery. However, he has had his fair share of injury problems in the last couple of seasons, and in the Poland international’s absence, centre-back Ezri Konsa has often deputised at right-back.
A lack of cover for Cash has been a problem for Emery, but Villa have finally looked to address it by signing Andres Garcia. The 21-year-old, energetic, creative and with an eye for goal, is expected to compete with Cash for a spot in Emery’s starting XI. As Villa are competing in three competitions, Garcia’s acquisition for around £7million pounds represents a smart piece of business.
Sevilla’s Loic Bade also eyed by the Villans
Villa are in mood of stopping after the acquisitions of Malen and Garcia; they want to add a centre-half to replace Diego Carlos, who is off to Turkish side Fenerbahce.
As per transfer news king Fabrizio Romano, the Villans have made their first bid for Sevilla defender Loic Bade. However, the Premier League club have yet to reach Sevilla’s valuation—falling £8million short of what the La Liga outfit want for his signature.
“I think there could be one or two more for Aston Villa, with one defender. The idea is Loic Bade from Sevilla, they presented the first proposal this week,” Romano said.
“It’s still not enough to convince Sevilla, they want something around £30million, and Aston Villa were around £22million, £23million – so let’s see what they will do in the next days.
“Also, it is based on how much time it is going to take to close the deal for Diego Carlos to Fenerbahce. It’s verbally agreed, it’s all ready, but we are still waiting for the player to proceed, to travel, and to sign his contract.”
With Carlos closing in on a move to Fenerbahce, and Pau Torres set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Emery has Konsa and Mings as his only fit centre-backs at the moment. Thus, Bade is being eyed, and at 24, he could turn out to be another shrewd long-term investment at Villa Park.
It will be interesting to see whether Villa up their bid for the French defender in the coming days.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
