Matty Cash was the only specialist option available when Unai Emery and Aston Villa entered the January transfer window looking to
add a right-back. The idea was to locate a substitute who could provide the Polish defender competition as well as cover.
Villa managed to sign teenage player Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade, who will remain on loan in the Serbian capital until
the end of the current campaign before joining Emery’s team in the summer.
Nedeljkovic’s issue is that, despite only making 18 first-team appearances for Red Star so far, he still lacks experience. Because of this,
there might be concerns about his readiness to start seeing significant Premier League action as early as next season, which might
force Villa to turn to Denzel Dumfries, a more seasoned short-term option.
Aston Villa contacts over the transfer to Dumfries
Villa has apparently gotten in touch with Dumfries’ agency, according to FC Inter News, as they ‘tested the waters with the agents’ to
talk about a possible summer transfer. Emery is already considering his team’s makeup for the upcoming campaign, though it is
unknown if his interest will “become serious or fade away”.
Importantly, Dumfries’ contract expires in eighteen months, and there is now “no dialogue” between the Serie A leaders and
Wasserman, his agency, who also represents Tyrone Mings and Clement Lenglet of Villa.
Though Inter still consider Dumfries a key player, they are unwilling to give him the kind of compensation he is requesting, and unless
things change, they intend to let him go this summer to avoid losing him in the last year of his contract.
The Dutchman had previously attracted the attention of Bayern Munich, but after acquiring Sacha Boey from Galatasaray last month,
they are no longer in need of a right-back; Erik ten Hag is eager to bring him to Manchester United. Inter are optimistic.
Villa could see Dumfries as a “ideal” signing.
Speaking highly of Dumfries, retired fellow countryman Rafael van der Vaart described him as the best player on the Netherlands
national squad, which also includes Cody Gakpo, Frenkie de Jong, and Virgil van Dijk.
“Dumfries is our big star,” he declared. He participates in every aspect of the game, making him our best player right now. He moves
around a lot. an exceptionally talented player. His touches are also excellent, which wasn’t always the case. The perfect full-back, he
is.”
This season at San Siro, Dumfries has undoubtedly been Simone Inzaghi’s “ideal” option. According to the underlying stats, he ranks
fifth in the league among creative players, as shown in the table above, with colleague Federico Dimarco ranking similarly high.
An important thing to keep in mind is that this season, Inzaghi has been playing with a back three, which means Dumfries has played
as a wing-back instead of on the right side of a four. If this deal goes through, there could need to be a mutual adaptation process
because Emery has only utilized a system similar to this twice in the league this season.
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