Transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano has heaped praise onto Aston Villa for their smart work to win the race for the signing of Everton midfielder Amadou Onana ahead of Barcelona this summer.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Romano explained that although Barcelona looked at Onana for some time, they ultimately decided against signing the Belgium international as their full focus is on a move for Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams instead.
Onana is now set to move to Villa instead, and Romano praised the Midlands outfit for the way they moved at the right time for the 22-year-old, who will surely prove to be a fine signing for Unai Emery’s side.
It was a blow for AVFC to lose Douglas Luiz this summer, but Onana should be a superb replacement, and it’s clear he could have easily been good enough to join even bigger clubs such as Barca.
Onana transfer: Romano praises Villa for beating Barca to Everton star
“Soon it’s going to be time to decide the future of Nico Williams, whose time at the Euros will be coming to an end tonight as he prepares for the final clash between Spain and England. Barcelona had an interest in Everton’s Amadou Onana, but he’s now close to joining Aston Villa instead as Barca wanted to save their budget for Nico Williams,” Romano said.
“Barcelona really like Onana and spent months discussing this possibility, but they didn’t make a bid and they won’t make a bid at the last minute of the negotiations. Barca want to focus on Nico Williams.”
He added: “Credit as well to Aston Villa because they did an excellent job on Onana. They had the most concrete interest and they worked well behind the scenes to present the proposal at the right moment. There was interest from Barcelona, but also from PSG, though their focus is on dream target Joao Neves.”