Report: £26m Aston Villa signing linked with January transfer

Aston Villa's transfer remit over the past few windows has been pretty clear - strengthen the playing squad at Unai Emery's disposal as the club engages with regularly playing in Europe.

Last season saw the Villans reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League, balancing their Premier League commitments with a first foray into European action for 12 years.

Villa passed the test with flying colours. They fell short of their bid to follow in West Ham's trophy-winning footsteps but arguably secured an ever bigger prize - direct qualification into this season's Champions League with a fourth-place Premier League finish.

Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Jaden Philogene and Ross Barkley were signed to further bolster Villa's options and for the most part they've done well - Onana in particular looks like an exciting capture despite costing a total package of £50m.

Diego Carlos linked with transfer away from Aston Villa

There were, however, no incomings at centre-back despite strong speculation that Diego Carlos could be leaving the club.

Fulham were strongly linked with the 31-year-old, signed from Sevilla in May 2022 for £26m, but no deal ever came to fruition as the Cottagers ended up signing Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace instead.

Football Insider allege that Villa could yet sanction an exit for Carlos in the January transfer window, with Emery said to be less than impressed by what he's seen from the Brazilian.

There is no suggestion as to where Carlos' next landing spot could be, rather a reference to the club's previous struggles with Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules – Douglas Luiz was sold to Juventus to aid Villa's compliance and other deals were done with Everton and Juventus are similar reasons.

Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings are the other centre-back options at Emery's disposal, though Carlos is far from out of the picture. Indeed, he's played six Premier League games so far, has appeared in all four of the club's appearances in the Champions League, and also played in the Carabao Cup fourth round defeat to Crystal Palace.

Carlos signed a four-year contract when he arrived at Villa, meaning his deal still has 17 months left to run.

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