Marco Asensio to Aston Villa transfer - Unai Emery promise, PSG stance and wages question
It's fair to say that Marco Asensio has made a substantial impression during his first weeks as an Aston Villa player. While Marcus Rashford rather understandably claimed the lion's share of the headlines when leaving Manchester United for Villa in January, Asensio was an eye-catching addition nonetheless.
In front of goal, the Spaniard has hit the ground running. Scoring twice when combining well with Rashford to down Chelsea recently, Asensio fired another brace in the comfortable FA Cup win over Cardiff City as Villa progressed into the quarter finals of the competition.
Asensio's latest contribution came in Bruges on Tuesday night as Villa emerged 3-1 victors over Club Brugge in the first leg of the last 16 in the Champions League; he netted a late penalty having stepped off the bench to give Villa a lovely cushion heading into next week's second leg.
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That makes it five goals in seven appearances for Asensio so far in a Villa shirt, and the Spanish international's striking early form in claret and blue has prompted talk looking ahead to the summer, and what awaits for Villa and the player himself - Asensio will, in the first instance, will return to parent club PSG.
The Ligue 1 champions have indicated that Asensio is available for a permanent transfer in the summer. Much will have to fall into place - the playmaker has generally played for clubs who tend to compete in top European competitions, so Villa will have to be able to offer Asensio something in that regard come the end of the season.
Asensio is reported to be on up to £120,000 a week, a salary which Villa are believed to be covering the entirety of during the entirety of his loan spell, and that is another component of any prospective deal in the future will have to be factored in when it comes to Villa and the notorious P&S rules which have caused issues for the club before now.
What is clear is how much Asensio has enjoyed his time at Villa so far. After his recent double against Chelsea, he posted on social media: “What a night! Feeling at home already!”
Much of that settling in will be down to Unai Emery, who has famously been a fan of Asensio for some time and finally got his man this past winter after allowing Emiliano Buendia to leave the club on a loan basis.
He also spent time in the lead up to the deal for Asensio being completed to convince his compatriot he would utilise him in his preferred position - something that has never been a given for Asensio when he has made up a part of squads packed with talent on the continent previously.
"He’s adapting very well and has a very good opportunity with us here to play as a number 10 and he was always feeling comfortable in this position," Emery said after the Cardiff win. "When we spoke to him, even before he went to Paris, we spoke with him as well to try to get a challenge here for him in the Premier League and as a number 10 in our structure.
"He decided in the last transfer window to join us because we planned with him to play in his best position. He is showing his wishes to try to add to us his qualities and his possibility to link through him our midfield, striker, wingers. He has the capacity to score goals in the box. It is fantastic."
Villa won't be alone in the eventuality that Asensio is on the move again in the summer; Real Sociedad have been linked with a move to bring the player back to La Liga, while Villa's Premier League rivals are sniffing around too, having seen up close Asensio's ability to adapt to English football immediately.
