Aston Villa are reportedly interested in Fredrik Aursnes as Unai Emery bids to bolster his midfield this summer.
The Spaniard has been joined by Monchi, who has a strong track record in recruiting efficiently as Villa aim to drive their squad to compete in Europe after confirming their place in next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League.
As revealed by Emery via The Athletic back in April, the four-time Europa League winner is aiming to introduce reinforcements all over the pitch.
In signing Aursnes, the Midlands club could hire a real talent in midfield in a player that could boost the options in the middle of the park.
The news speculating Villa’s link to the Benfica ace came courtesy of Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport Witness) earlier this week.
The report claimed that the Villans have made contact over potentially signing the 27-year-old, who has a release clause of €50m (£42m), adding that the Eagles would only let the player leave for such a fee.
What could Fredrik Aursnes offer to Aston Villa?
Lauded as a “class act” by Norwegian football expert David Weatherston, Emery could add to the talents that already adorn his midfield by signing the middle-of-the-park maestro.
Likened to £106.8m jewel Enzo Fernandez based on his statistics recorded over the past year, Aursnes is an accomplished figure to have in any side, as highlighted by his numbers.
In 28 appearances in Liga Portugal, the Norwegian averaged a Sofascore match rating of 7.01, scoring two goals and registering four assists from central midfield.
Averaging one key pass per game, the 27-year-old is a player equipped with an innate attacking ability, suggesting he could provide worthy competition for one of Emery’s stars in that area.
Despite missing a chunk of the season to injury, Boubacar Kamara has shown glimpses of his class in the middle of the park in acting as a sweeper sitting in front of the back line as well as providing a competent outlet in his skills in progressive play.
The 23-year-old could find himself having competition should Villa opt to sign Aursnes, who flexes a greater efficiency in a box-to-box role as suggested by statistics.
When comparing the two on their respective 2022/23 campaigns based on their numbers provided by FBref, it’s clear to see why the Portuguese champions value their player so highly.
The Hareid-born gem ranked in the top 1% for progressive passes per 90 (8.44), as well as topping the charts in terms of pass completion rate with an average of 85.1% in comparison to other attacking midfielders in the league.
Villa’s ace fell short in the same area averaging 4.25 progressive passes per 90 in the Premier League, while his pass accuracy of 84.8% was fractionally smaller.
Adding competition to any side is integral to promoting individual performance in the bid to bolster overall team performance, critical to challenging the Premier League and European competition efficiently.
