Villa line up move for Emery’s own Walker in £25m “monster”

Villa Park was bouncing when Jhon Duran scored an emphatic brace off the bench to ensure that Aston Villa salvaged a late draw against Liverpool in the Premier League, for it all but confirmed a place among Europe’s elite.

Unai Emery watched his team get picked apart by ravenous Eagles later that week, last week, but it didn’t matter, with Tottenham Hotspur already losing at home against Manchester City, confirming that the Villans would grace the Champions League for the first time in its modern branding.

But there’s no denying that a remarkable campaign finished with a whimper, Villa crashing out of the Europea Conference League against Olympiakos in the semi-final and winning just one of five final top-flight fixtures.

Of course, this hardly matters when the proud supporters know that the summit of European football lies around the corner, when the giddying chance to make more history, in turn, opens the door to exciting new additions.

Former loanee Ross Barkley is expected to be the first to make the move to the Midlands this summer in a shrewd move following his excellent spell with Luton Town last season, but Emery is certainly not going to stop there.

Villa lining up exciting deal

According to FC Inter News, Aston Villa are interested in launching a summer move for Inter Milan star Denzel Dumfries, who has played a big part in Simeone Inzaghi’s Scudetto-winning season.

The Dutch dynamo is out of contract in 12 months and has earned plenty of attention in recent months, with Manchester United notably keen on pursuing a deal.

But Villa are confident that Champions League football and the consequent windfall provide them with the means to complete a swoop, with the Italian club hoping to collect €30m (£25m) for his sale.

Denzel Dumfries’ season in numbers

Dumfries has been on Inter’s books for three seasons after transferring away from his homeland, where he had earned acclaim with PSV Eindhoven, with journalist Antonio Mango hailing him as “a joy to watch“.

Having now amassed 131 displays for Inter – scoring 11 goals and adding 20 assists – the Netherlands star has cemented himself as one of the most dangerous and dynamic wide defenders in Italy, even described as a “monster” by journalist Alan Rzepa.

Take a look at the table above. Dumfries is far more potent in an attacking sense, and while he’s not very active in deeper phases of possession, he still maintains superiority over Villa right-back Matty Cash in creativity and effectiveness in the duel and in his ball-carrying.

It is worth noting that Villa kept two clean sheets in 23 matches where Cash featured from the outset, as opposed to six clean sheets across the 15 fixtures where he was not.

As per FBref, the Netherlands international ranks among the top 3% of full-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 12% for assists, the top 2% for touches in the attacking penalty area and the top 6% for aerial duels won per 90.

FBref make it clear to see that the 28-year-old does not fit into the constraints of a traditional full-back, instead pushing high up the pitch to best utilise his attacking abilities.

He’s been known to dream of a move to the Premier League and it would now be the perfect way for Emery to follow the soon-to-be-confirmed transfer of Barkley with a real statement of intent.

Why Denzel Dumfries would be perfect for Villa

Dumfries certainly differs from the industrious but lacking in game-changing moments of Cash, but this measure of balance could actually be perfect for Villa as they look for crafty new ways to stay ahead and ensure that the 2024/25 campaign does not lurch them back toward the lower depths of the Premier League table.

It’s particularly interesting that Dumfries bears a stylistic similarity to Manchester City phenom Kyle Walker, who might be getting on a bit but remains one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history, instrumental throughout Pep Guardiola’s dynasty, completing 300 appearances.

Walker also spent the 2010/11 campaign on loan at Villa Park when growing into his skin in the early days of his Tottenham career, scoring one goal and supplying three assists from 15 Premier League matches.

Having recorded the fastest speed in the 2022/23 Premier League at 37.31 km/h – despite being 32 years old for most of the campaign – Walker’s pace has been a singular weapon for Guardiola’s trophy vacuum, with Three Lions teammate Jordan Pickford hailing him as “the best right-back in the world.”

Cash does a good job for Emery’s Villa, but Dumfries would bring the breakneck pace and inborn predatory instinct to provide the squad with an additional dimension fitting for a club emerging as a budding power at the height of continental competition.

Walker does not barrel ahead with the same regularity as he once did, ranking among the top 8% of positional peers for progressive carries per 90 across Europe’s top five leagues in the 2019/20 campaign, but, unquestionably, he’s still got it in him and has demonstrated such immense athletic attributes and how they can contribute toward a team of elite-level success.

Pundit Kenny Cunningham called him a “phenomenal athlete“, and given that Dumfries is endowed with explosive, aggressive athleticism, always eager to hunt down opportunities in the final third and contribute toward attacks with goals and assists, he might just be the Premier League’s natural heir to Walker’s place in the division.