Reports in Portugal indicate that Aston Villa were closer than we might have thought to signing Spanish striker Samu Aghehowa and could still bring him to the Premier League.
Villa moved for Aghehowa in the summer transfer window but no move transpired. Indeed, Villa’s only centre-forward addition was teenage striker Zépiqueno Redmond from Feyenoord.
According to A Bola, Villa were only unable to add 21-year-old Aghehowa to their ranks because of the need to comply with the financial framework laid out by the Premier League and UEFA.
With Villa still in desperate need of number 9 depth – a situation thrown into sharp relief when Ollie Watkins collided with a goal post on international duty this month – the Portuguese press claims Villa’s liking for the Porto centre-forward remains intact.
“A Bola claim the Villans are still interested in Samu as a potential option, though it remains uncertain whether a move can be made without breaking financial and spending regulations,” reports BirminghamLive.
Aghehowa, who joined Porto from Atlético Madrid, has a €100 million release clause that equates to £87 million but “could be allowed to leave the Estádio do Dragão for less.”
Aghehowa impressed Porto during a loan spell at Alavés and has proved a lethal addition for the Dragons.
He scored 19 league goals in just 23 starts in 2024/25. Scoring 0.76 goals per 90 minutes is a tremendous return in anyone’s money and Aghehowa has started the new season in even better form.
The young striker has bagged five league goals in under 400 minutes to help Porto go three points clear at the top of the table.
A full Spanish international and Olympic gold medallist, Aghehowa’s blistering start to the season makes him the most efficient scorer with his minutes in the Portuguese top flight. He gets himself into shooting positions with ease.
Villa are wholly reliant on Watkins up front since they sold football fruit loop Jhon Durán to Al Nassr in January. Marcus Rashford played as a striker in some of his matches on loan from Manchester United last season but Donyell Malen has proved a modestly adequate understudy at best despite his rather better contributions in slightly wider roles.
A late move for Newcastle United’s Danish striker William Osula was reportedly made impossible for financial reasons in the summer transfer window.
Villa’s interest in him demonstrated an awareness that there’s a problematic gap in the squad. Not being able to bring him in serves as evidence that the gap won’t be filled easily in the current regulatory environment.
The need to sign a back-up striker in the January transfer window is obvious and a player of Aghehowa’s raw but exciting potential would be a stunning way to fulfil the exceedingly difficult brief of easing the burden and reliance on Watkins.
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