Role played by Luis Suarez in Aston Villa’s Rodrigo Bentancur swoop confirmed
Last Updated: January 24, 2022 9:13 am
An insight into the surprise role played by Atletico Madrid hitman Luis Suarez in Aston Villa pushing forth with a move for Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been provided on Sunday.
Speculation surrounding the Villans’ interest in Uruguayan international Bentancur has of course been rampant over the course of the last 24 hours.
This comes with Steven Gerrard having evidently identified the middle of the park as an area in need of reinforcement ahead of the 2nd half of the campaign.
Villa’s first-choice target to appease their new boss is understood to have come in the form of Brighton standout Yves Bissouma.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Yves Bissouma of Brighton & Hove Albion breaks with the ball during the Premier League match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park on January 02, 2022 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
However, after seeing an initial offer of £25 million for the Malian knocked back by their counterparts at the Amex, the board at Villa Park have since turned their attentions firmly towards Juve’s Bentancur.
And now, on Sunday, an insight into the influence of fellow countryman Luis Suarez on the Claret and Blue’s sudden interest in the 24-year-old has been provided.
As per a report from John Percy of The Telegraph, after being sought out for advice, Suarez provided one-time Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard with a ‘glowing reference’ of Bentancur’s talents, culminating in the former Boca Juniors talent emerging as Villa’s new no.1 midfield target this month:
Luis Suarez has provided Steven Gerrard with a glowing reference on #avfc target Rodrigo Bentacur. Juventus midfielder & Uruguay international now #1 choice at DCM after Villa’s £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton. Talks to continue this week, as per @TomCollomosse
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) January 23, 2022
Villans stocking up
The capture of Bentancur over the course of the coming week would of course add further to a stellar January transfer window being enjoyed by Aston Villa to date.
The Midlands outfit, evidently intent on making up for a disappointing opening to the campaign, have already brought in not one, but two high-profile players this month.
The first came in the form of Philippe Coutinho, followed swiftly by Lucas Digne.
And both stars have since quickly made their mark at the club, Coutinho in finding the net on his debut off the bench against Manchester United, and Digne with the assist for the Villans’ only goal in a 1-0 downing of Everton on Saturday.
An absolutely brilliant header from Emi Buendía gives Aston Villa the lead going into the break! 💥
Former Everton man Lucas Digne provides the assist 🅰️ pic.twitter.com/Sbq9F0Nvt6
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 22, 2022
Read more:
Chelsea’s Thiago Silva follows Ryan Giggs into exclusive club after goal vs Tottenham
Harvey Elliott responds to Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace
This article was edited by Ben Browning.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 36 | 72 | 89 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 36 | 65 | 86 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 36 | 42 | 70 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 37 | 24 | 68 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 36 | 11 | 66 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 37 | 1 | 58 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 36 | 11 | 55 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 36 | -3 | 50 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 36 | -4 | 47 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 35 | -4 | 45 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 35 | 4 | 44 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 35 | -1 | 43 |
| 13 | Brentford FC | 36 | -8 | 43 |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 36 | -21 | 43 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 36 | -20 | 40 |
| 16 | Everton FC | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 36 | -18 | 34 |
| 18 | Leeds United | 36 | -38 | 34 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 36 | -38 | 23 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 36 | -56 | 21 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 22 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 10 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 10 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 10 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 9 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| James, Daniel | Leeds United | 1 | 7 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 8 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
