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Report: Unai Emery has now personally spoken to ‘warrior’ and told him he wants him to join Aston Villa
Unai Emery has spoken to Matteo Guendouzi and told him he wants to bring him to Aston Villa before the end of the transfer window.
Emery worked with Guendouzi at Arsenal, bringing him to the club and giving him his opportunity in the Premier League.
Now, as the Spaniard embarks on his first window in charge of Villa, he is looking to make changes to his squad this month.
It has been reported that the most interested Premier League club in Guendouzi are now Villa and now Emery has been in touch with the midfielder.
Emery has told Guendouzi he wants to bring him to Villa
French outlet report that an offer from Villa is now likely to arrive soon after the conversation between manager and midfielder.
Emery tried to sign Guendouzi for Villarreal, when the Frenchman was still at Arsenal and has made recruiting him this month a priority.
The report also says that Marseille are not planning to sell the midfielder but would listen to a good offer for him, despite a contract which runs until June 2025.
Back in 2019, Guendouzi helped Arsenal beat Villa 3-2 and Alan Shearer was full of praise on Match of the Day – – branding Guendouzi a ‘warrior’.
“Guendouzi was magnificent in the second half, they needed a warrior and he stood up,” Shearer said. “What a performance in the second half.”
He is a divisive player but if Guendouzi is who Emery wants, Villa should try and provide that and improve their squad ahead of what they hope will be an better second part of the season.
Emery is a methodical manager who is specific in what he demands of his players, so getting in someone who has a real idea of what he wants already could help accelerate that process.
In some ways, Emery and Guendouzi are an odd match, in the sense that the Spaniard is unflappable and seems to want everything cool and controlled.
Guendouzi is a livewire who is more unpredictable on the pitch, but he was good enough to get into a France squad which made the World Cup final and came within a penalty shootout of defending their crown.
Villa have backed their managers financially and it seems unlikely Emery would have agreed to come to Villa Park unless he was assured he would get the same treatment.