Roberto Olabe’s five best signings spell good news for Aston Villa as agreement reached

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Aston Villa are closing in on another change at the top of the club, with a shuffle occurring in the hierarchy.

Monchi is set to leave Aston Villa, with the president of football operations moving away from the club due to personal reasons.

He spent two years at Villa Park, overseeing transfer activity and the operations that saw the club go deep into the Champions League.

With that exit set to be formalised, Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Roberto Olabe as his potential replacement.

As the former Real Sociedad director closes in on the move, here’s a look at some of his best transfers in recent history.

Alexander Isak

At this point, Alexander Isak is a household name in England, having lit the Premier League up with Newcastle, while he plans to do the same at Liverpool.

There was a time, however, when that wasn’t the case.

In 2017, Isak was signed by Borussia Dortmund, where he showed plenty of promise to become the striker he is now.

However, with a real lack of opportunities, he was sold to Real Sociedad in 2019 for just over £8 million.

In three years at the club, the Swedish international played 132 times and scored 44 goals, with eight assists.

A Copa del Rey triumph was the highlight, before he made the big-money move to Newcastle.

Takefusa Kubo

In 2022, Olabe looked to poach some more promising options from rivals, this time from Real Madrid.

Takefusa Kubo signed for Real Sociedad as a promising youngster, who had impressed on several loan spells across La Liga.

Three years on, Kubo’s £5.5 million transfer fee looks like an absolute bargain.

A versatile forward, the 24-year-old has regularly impressed for Sociedad, with over 140 appearances made for the club, and counting.

Mikel Merino

When it comes to finding value, Olabe certainly has an eye for an option or two.

Mikel Merino was one of those, signing from Newcastle back in 2018.

A fee in the region of £10 million saw the midfielder move to the Basque Country, where he settled in well.

Over six years, he made over 240 appearances for the club, scoring 27 goals and assisting 30.

Merino helped La Real earn the Copa del Rey, while he also went on to become a regular in the Spanish national team.

The midfielder has since joined Arsenal, where he aims to take his career to the next level.

David Silva

It wasn’t just young signings that Olabe made in his time at Real Sociedad that represented value, but some experienced heads too.

David Silva was one of those, as he joined the club from Manchester City on a free transfer in 2020.

During a three-year spell at the club, the Spanish midfielder showed his class on plenty of occasions, before retiring.

Nacho Monreal

Another value signing on the experience front was Nacho Monreal, as he joined Real Sociedad in 2019 from Arsenal for a nominal fee.

The veteran defender was comfortable playing at left-back or centre-back and fit well in a team that was pushing up the table.

What Roberto Olabe could bring to Aston Villa

Roberto Olabe’s spell at Real Sociedad shows a mixture of signing top youth prospects and finding value in the market.

Given Aston Villa’s PSR standings, it may be the sort of move that helps the club push the boat out more with signings over the long term.

Whether it’s youngsters or experienced options, the Villans can expect a director who will look to operate well on a budget.

How well that translates to the Premier League environment, however, is anyone’s guess.