Aston Villa have provided Monchi and Unai Emery with funds to bolster the playing squad so far in the summer transfer window…
Who have Aston Villa signed this summer?
The Villans brought in Belgium international Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester City as their first signing ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
They have since added Moussa Diaby for a club-record £51.9m deal from Bayer Leverkusen and central defender Pau Torres from Villarreal on a permanent basis.
Read the latest Aston Villa transfer news HERE…
There could be further business to come for Villa, though, as they have been linked with a swoop to sign Leeds United ace Wilfried Gnonto this summer, who would cost at least £40m.
How good is Wilfried Gnonto?
The 19-year-old dynamo is an exciting young talent who could come in as a player with long-term potential whilst also having the ability to make an immediate impact on the pitch.
Emery could land Ollie Watkins a dream partner in the final third as the Italian ace is a versatile gem who could either play out wide to provide service for the England international or through the middle as a striker partner for him.
The former Inter prospect produced two goals and four assists in 14 top-flight starts for the Whites as they were relegated from the division last term and could improve upon that tally as part of a better team, given that Villa finished seventh in the table and a whopping 30 points clear of the Yorkshire-based outfit.
Watkins scored 15 league goals for the Villans last season and he could help the Italy international, who struck ten times in 16 U17 matches for Inter, to find his feet as a goalscorer at the top level after signs of promise so far.
The Leeds ace scored 12 goals and assisted ten in 74 games for Zurich prior to his move to England, but it is his play in deep possession that has caught the eye during his time at Elland Road so far.
In the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, Gnonto ranked amongst the top 13% of his positional peers for progressive carries per 90 (4.39), which shows that the teenage ace is excellent at driving his team up the pitch by picking the ball up in a deep position before racing past players to eat up ground.
Watkins, on the other hand, ranked in the bottom half of players in his position for progressive carries per 90 (1.44) and this suggests that he would benefit from having the Leeds star as a strike partner to do that side of the game for him.
Gnonto could use his dynamism and ball-carrying ability to push Villa forward and Watkins can maintain his position through the middle as the starting number nine and concentrate on getting into goalscoring areas to punish teams at the top end of the pitch.
The £40m-rated ace, who was described as an "absolute nightmare" for defenders by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has not proven himself to be a lethal scorer but his four assists in 14 top-flight starts suggests that he also has the creativity to provide the English striker with chances to score from.
Therefore, they could form a dream partnership upfront for Villa and one that could have the potential to get even better with time as Gnonto, hopefully, develops.