Aston Villa eager to sign £14m World Cup attacker likened to Wilfried Zaha

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Aston Villa have reportedly rekindled their interest Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli ahead of the January transfer window.

According to Football Transfers, Villans boss Unai Emery wants to bring in a left-sided attacker when the window reopens as a top priority.

And Abde, who previously plied his trade for Barcelona and also plays for the Morocco national team, is apparently the primary target for Villa.

During the previous transfer window, Villa were said to have verbally agreed on personal terms with the 21-year-old.

However, a disagreement in valuation with Barcelona resulted in his transfer to Betis, where he has done fairly well despite few starts thus far.

Abde has made 19 appearances in all competitions – of which seven have been starts – and he has registered four goals.

However, the report suggests there could be a stumbling block for Villa due to a Betis rift with Monchi from his time at Sevilla.

Monchi faced backlash in 2022 for celebrating on the pitch after a derby match, leading to strained relations with Los Verdiblancos, said the report.

Aston Villa set sights on 2022 World Cup ace Abde Ezzalzouli

Villa have enjoyed a bright start to the season, sitting fourth in the Premier League table and qualifying for the Europa Conference League knockouts.

With that in mind, it looks as though Emery wants to strike while the iron’s hot and bolster his ranks in pursuit of a potentially historic campaign in England and Europe.

Abde is a top prospect who’s very much top-flight standard and looks like he has a bright future in the game.

Although it didn’t work out for him at Barca, just the fact they scouted and recruited him, deeming him good enough for La Masia, shows how much potential he has.

In addition, Abde played at the 2022 World Cup as Morocco made history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

As per Football Transfers, the £14million-rated winger – who can operate on both flanks – boasts lightning-quick pace, power, and proficiency with both feet.

Meanwhile, Football Talent Scout likened Abde to Wilfried Zaha and gave him a potential rating of 8.5 out of 10.