John Percy of The Telegraph has reported that Aston Villa are ready to move for Sevilla sporting director Monchi, following the departure of the club’s CEO and director Christian Purslow.
The Villans are reportedly prepared to pay £1.7m in compensation to the Andalusian club for the Spaniard, who has prior experience working with their current manager Unai Emery, with the pair leading the side to a Europa League title in each of their three seasons together in Seville.
The former goalkeeper was appointed as sporting director at the Spanish side in 2000 and has been a highly influential figure ever since, making several astute signings as he helped bring an astounding seven Europa League trophies to the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium. However, there is likely to be some skeptiscm over how the 54-year-old will fare away from his home nation, with his stint at Italian side Roma in 2017 failing to impress, as he stepped down after just two years in March 2019 before returning to his previous job the following month.
The ex-Sevilla player recently informed the club’s board of his desire to step down at the end of the season, citing psychological exhaustion after their recent European triumph. However, this is most likely due to the ongoing tension between himself and the club’s president José Castro and vice-president José María de Nido Carrasco over his perecieved loss of decision making power.
The Claret and Blues interest comes after the announcement of CEO and director Christian Purslow’s departure, who was appointed in September 2018, shortly after owners NSWE aquired the club. The ex-Liverpool director has had a successful spell during his time in Birmingham, with the side sitting in the bottom half of the Championship during the start of his first season, to finishing seventh place in the Premier League in his last, an achievement which ensured Europa Conference League football would be played at Villa Park next year.
Travis Levison | Get Football
