Aston Villa have Barcelona-to-signing-la-liga-club-walk-away-against-pl-competitors/”>moved to the front of the queue for Real Betis winger Ez Abde this summer. This comes after Barcelona made it clear they aren’t looking to bring the 24-year-old Moroccan back at his current price tag. Spanish outlet Sport reports it is highly unlikely that Abde and Barcelona will reunite, with the La Liga champions privately moving on from the deal. Barcelona’s board doesn’t see Abde as a priority right now, choosing to focus their efforts elsewhere, including a potential permanent move for Marcus Rashford.

Aston Villa in pole position to sign La Liga’s electric Moroccan winger

Even though Barcelona kept 20% of Abde’s sell-on rights when he left the Camp Nou, they only valued a potential return at roughly €30m. At that price, the deal would have cost them about €24m net. Real Betis, however, want closer to €40m and are happy to sell to the highest bidder. Barcelona have even looked into selling their 20% stake back to Betis just to get some quick cash, a move they’ve made before.

Abde’s standout season with Betis has caught the eye of several clubs, specifically Newcastle United and Aston Villa. Diario de Sevilla confirmed the Premier League interest, and the statistics show why. Abde notched nine goals and eight assists in 27 La Liga games this term, maintaining a non-penalty xG of 0.47 per 90 minutes. That puts him in the top 4% of all La Liga players. His 17 direct goal involvements and an xA of 0.30 per 90 minutes also rank him among the most creative players in the league.

Should Aston Villa genuinely stretch to €40m for a player with a clear defensive weakness?