Report: Aston Villa think they’ll sign better player than Bentancur

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Aston Villa felt that they had better targets in mind anyway when they failed to sign Rodrigo Bentancur before his Tottenham Hotspur move during the January transfer window, according to a report from The Athletic.

The Athletic suggests that signing a new holding midfielder is a priority for Steven Gerrard following his appointment at Villa Park.

The likes of Yves Bissouma and Kalvin Phillips are on the radar heading into the summer. But they did try to rectify the situation in January. And one of the players they made a move for was Bentancur.

The Athletic reports that Villa made a bid for the Uruguayan. However, Juventus rejected the offer, wanting more money for the 24-year-old.

That subsequently left the door open for Tottenham to sign Bentancur. Spurs paid around £20.8 million for him.

Interestingly, it would seem that the Villans were not too disappointed about missing out. The Athletic reports that they felt that the targets they had for the summer were more appealing anyway.

Bentancur form for Tottenham adds to pressure on Aston Villa this summer

Villa may still be confident that they can get it right this summer. But there is absolutely no question that Bentancur has added to the pressure on the recruitment team with his form for Spurs.

He has been excellent for Tottenham. Antonio Conte described one of his displays as ‘incredible‘. And of course, he was part of the Spurs side that won 4-0 at Villa Park at the weekend.

It is still too early in his Tottenham career to judge just how successful he could be in North London. But his current form makes it even more imperative that Villa get it right when they strengthen in the summer.