Aston Villa are fresh off another victory, taking care of business in the Premier League by beating Fulham 2-1. Under Unai Emery, the Lions have become a force to be reckoned with in the English top flight and are within Champions League contention.
They worked hard to bring the manager even more star power this summer, signing one of the best wingers in European football in Frenchman Moussa Diaby of Bayer Leverkusen. He was even on Real Madrid’s radar.
Now, Aston Villa could be after another left-footed attacking player, albeit more of a playmaker type than a winger, even though he has been doing excellently as an inverted winger.
Per Calciomercato.com, Villa are among the many clubs interested in Frosinone attacking midfielder and winger Matías Soulé, currently on loan from Juventus.
Many Premier League and Bundesliga sides have also been linked with the Argentinian playmaker, including record champions Bayern Munich and current title favorites Leverkusen.
Soulé could even head back to Juventus, but it seems like he will move on for about 40 million euros amidst an incredible breakout season for Frosinone in Serie A.
The 20-year-old has scored a whopping 10 goals for the newly-promoted side, averaging a whopping 3.3 dribbles completed and 2.5 key passes to prove that he offers far more than just those goals.
Soulé’s stat sheet may only show two assists, but on a better team than Frosinone, all the chances he creates with his quality dribbling skills and creativity would likely show triple those assists.
Aston Villa have serious attacking quality in Diaby and Ollie Watkins, who has become one of Europe’s best all-around strikers. Former Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey is another top player at his position in the Premier League.
But Emery doesn’t have that inventive central or inverted playmaker. Bailey and Diaby can create chances, but they are clearly wingers.
Philippe Coutinho didn’t work out, while Jacob Ramsey isn’t consistent enough to be a starter at the Champions League level in a playmaker role, where the standard in the modern game is incredibly high.
Soulé has been money in Serie A this season, with no rising playmaker making quite the same mark as the U21 talent. He has really spread his wings outside of Turin and been one of the most impressive playmakers in Europe this season of any age.
On paper, Soulé makes a lot of sense for Villa as that extra piece to a fluid attack, especially if they want that extra wrinkle for the Champions League in 2024/25.
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