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Aston Villa could sign forward compared to Eden Hazard, Monchi has watched him since 2022
- EXCLUSIVE with Graeme Bailey
Aston Villa have enjoyed a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign under Unai Emery – after a busy summer of recruitment with Monchi as Director of Football.
The Spaniard oversaw some significant deals, such as the £50m signing of Amadou Onana and a £37.5m move to take Ian Maatsen from Chelsea.
Darren Bent even said he wishes Arsenal signed Onana – given the Belgian’s excellent start to life at Villa Park, scoring two goals in six Premier League appearances so far, helping the Villans sit fifth.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 3 |  ArsenalArsenal | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 13 |
| 5 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 |  FulhamFulham | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 7 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 11 |
Despite this positivity, Aston Villa are still looking to strengthen in 2025, with a favourite of Monchi being strongly considered.
Aston Villa could sign Atletico Madrid’s Samuel Lino in 2025
TBR Football have now been told that Aston Villa are closely monitoring the progress of Samuel Lino at Atletico Madrid, as Unai Emery aims to improve his options down the left flank.
The Brazilian is capable of playing on the left of attack, or as a left wing-back, while he has also appeared in a central attacking midfield role this season.
Sources also inform TBR Football that Yeremy Pino and Alex Buena are admired by the Villans too, although Lino is the one firmly in Aston Villa’s sights, as Monchi has tracked the South American ever since his move to the Wanda Metropolitano in July 2022.
Atletico Madrid paid £6.9m to sign Lino from Gil Vicente at the time.
Monchi could provide Unai Emery with a new Eden Hazard
Aston Villa were linked with a move for Eden Hazard shortly before the Belgian opted to retire in October 2023 – and while that transfer obviously never materialised, the Villa could sign a very similar player in Lino.
A scouting report from Atletico Madrid page compares the 24-year-old to Hazard, specifically stating that the pair are similar in the “nuanced” way they tend to dribble with the ball.
If Lino can be even half as good as Hazard was for Chelsea in the Premier League – where he scored 85 goals and assisted another 54 in 245 appearances – Aston Villa will have a very special footballer on their hands, to say the least.