Report: Aston Villa now want to sign £9m player after he is dropped from starting XI and put up for sale

Aston Villa kicked off the 2024/25 campaign in ideal fashion with a 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday evening.

A debut goal from Amadou Onana after just four minutes put the Villans 1-0 ahead inside the London Stadium before Jhon Duran secured all three points with a 79th minute winner, after Lucas Paqueta had equalised in the 37th minute.

Now, there has been another positive development for Aston Villa and Unai Emery…

Aston Villa target Ernest Muci now up for sale

A story from Aslinda in Turkey now claims that Ernest Muci has been put up for sale by Giovanni van Bronckhorst – after he was replaced in the starting XI by Rafa Silva.

The Turkish news outlet add that Aston Villa are interested in bringing the 23-year-old Albania international to Villa Park after this development, while some Saudi Arabian clubs are also showing interest.

Besiktas only signed Muci for €10m (£9m) from Legia Warsaw as recently as February 2023 – Aslinda believe the Turkish giants are now ready to sell the attacking midfielder, and want to make their money back.

The man from Tirane scored 13 goals in 51 appearances last season – while also providing two assists – although the signing of the aforementioned Silva has completely changed the dynamic of his situation in Istanbul.

Unai Emery would surely struggle to accommodate the Albanian

Muci has become unsettled after losing his place to Silva – although he would surely struggle to receive more playing time at Aston Villa, where competition is incredibly fierce in the attacking midfield department.

Emery opted to start Morgan Rogers in that role against West Ham, also bringing Jacob Ramsey on during the game, while leaving Ross Barkley and Emiliano Buendia on the bench.

Therefore, it would seem utterly pointless to sign another attacking midfielder when that area of the squad is already so bloated.

Of course, a £9m deal is fairly cheap for Aston Villa, and Monchi – Director of Football at Villa Park – may feel he can flip the Besiktas No.23 for profit in a later window, which could explain the interest.

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Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as Muci now seems certain to leave Besiktas this summer.