Aston Villa linked with Real Madrid star who could be available for £8.5m in January
Aston Villa have been credited with an interest in Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio ahead of the opening of the January transfer window - and he could be available for as little as £8.5m.
Asencio has come through Real's Castilla team - their B side - but has broken into the first-team set-up in recent months as injuries have taken their toll on Carlo Ancelotti's side.
The 21-year-old, who has 18 months left on his current contract at the Bernabeu, has made seven appearances under Ancelotti since the beginning of last month and even played 90 minutes of their 2-0 Champions League defeat at Liverpool three weeks ago.
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Ancelotti has Antonio Rudiger, Fran Garcia and Eder Militao as his other centre half options, although the latter is set for a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury. Otherwise, the Italian boss has been leaning on midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni to help fill in in the back-line, along with Raul.
Spanish outlet Fichajes claim that Raul is the subject of interest from Villa, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, who all maintain their own respective hopes that they can secure European football in the second half of next season; Forest have boast a strong track record recently of recruiting centre halves, namely Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic.
Villa, meanwhile, have Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Diego Carlos as the recognised centre half options, although there have long been doubts surrounding the future of the latter, who came close to leaving Villa Park in the summer transfer window.
