Monchi 'in box seat' to sign £67m-rated Man Utd target from La Liga

Aston Villa and Man Utd are both in the mix for Oihan Sancet

Aston Villa are in a strong position to beat Manchester United to the January signing of Athletic Club star Oihan Sancet, according to a report.

It is claimed that Aston Villa are ‘in the box seat’ in the chase for central attacking midfielder Sancet, an ‘excellent’ playmaker who is ‘highly rated’ in Spain. The pursuit is being led by Villa’s president of football operations Monchi, who has strong connections in La Liga after the great work he did as Sevilla’s sporting director.

Man Utd are also in the mix for Sancet, with their new manager Ruben Amorim eager to make the 24-year-old one of his first new signings at Old Trafford.

But the report, which originates from CaughtOffside, states that Villa are in pole position as they are ready to launch a ‘significant’ January bid for Sancet.

Villa are undeterred by the fact Sancet has an €80million (£66.9m / $84.4m) release clause in his Athletic contract.

Monchi is in talks with his fellow Villa chiefs over whether the club should match that exit clause outright or try and strike an alternative deal.

Either way, Villa are confident about convincing the player to join their ranks.

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Sancet could join strong Aston Villa squad

Sancet will believe Unai Emery can make him an even better player, while he will also be enticed by starring in both the Premier League and Champions League with Villa.

It is not guaranteed that Sancet will go straight into the Villa starting eleven, as Emery can already rely on players such as Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendia in the No 10 position.

However, these are the kind of signings that Villa need to make if they are to have the squad depth needed to challenge for league titles and competitions such as the FA Cup.

Sancet spent time in the Osasuna academy before joining Athletic’s youth ranks in 2015. He gained promotion to their senior team in August 2020 and has gone on to register 30 goals and 15 assists in 169 games for the club so far.

Sancet scored the equaliser for Athletic in the Copa del Rey final earlier this year, which they won on penalties to lift their first major trophy in 40 years.

This term, Sancet has managed five goals in 12 matches, while he has also been capped by Spain on four occasions, scoring once.

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Meanwhile, reports in Spain claim Villa have begun talks with Chelsea over a surprise deal for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The midfielder only joined Chelsea from Leicester City in the summer, reuniting with manager Enzo Maresca, but he has struggled for game time so far.

While Villa has been named as one potential destination, Fabrizio Romano states that Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur could sign Dewsbury-Hall first.

Villa are also trying to beat Spurs to the capture of Johnny Cardoso, despite Ange Postecoglou’s side already having an agreement in place for him.

Spurs have first refusal on the Real Betis midfielder, but that has not stopped reports suggesting that Villa are also in the frame.

Spurs have been tipped to accelerate their pursuit of Cardoso to try and stop him from heading to a direct rival such as Villa.

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