Aston Villa recently announced their biggest signing of the summer transfer window to date – Amadou Onana.
Unai Emery may have splashed out £50m to secure his signature, but considering how impressive he has been since moving to England, it could be money well spent.
With Champions League football to look forward to next season, the Spaniard will be eyeing up another few signings before the start of the season.
Might a talented young right-back be high on the list?
Aston Villa eyeing move for Italian defender
According to reports in Italy (via Sport Witness), Villa are interested in signing Fiorentina right-back Michael Kayode this summer.
They aren’t alone, however. Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also keen admirers of the youngster as they seek to improve their defence ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Fiorentina have placed a €30m (£25m) price tag on his head, and they will consider offers if this is met, which could certainly tempt Emery to make a concrete move in the coming days.
An initial loan deal with an option to buy may also be considered by the Serie A side, something which may be more logical for Villa.
If he does sign, Kayode could help take Leon Bailey to new heights, no doubt about that.
Michael Kayode’s season in numbers
The Jamaican winger was wonderful last season. Across all competitions, he registered 28 goal contributions in 52 matches, emerging as a key player for Emery.
Now that Moussa Diaby has departed, could he play a bigger part next season? Kayode would certainly be able to help him going forwards.
Metric
Premier League
Europa Conference League
Goals
10
2
Assists
9
4
Big chances created
12
2
Key passes per game
1.5
1.2
Successful dribbles per game
1.6
2.2
The 20-year-old registered four assists and scored once last term, but it isn’t just in goal involvements that his true talents lie.
He created one big chance, averaged 0.6 key passes and 0.8 successful dribbles per game in the league last season. Not spectacular, but they give a glimpse as to just how good he can get if he continues his current form, with Matty Cash, for example, averaging just 0.4 and 0.8 himself for those latter two metrics, respectively – albeit while creating six big chances.
Defensively, he is also developing at a solid rate. According to FBref, last season, Kayode ranked in the top 12% for tackles per 90 (2.32) in the 2023/24 Serie A season, showing how strong he is at this part of his game.
This led to praise from analyst Ben Mattinson, who dubbed the youngster as a “duel monster” and he could give Villa – and Bailey – some solidity defensively, that’s for sure. That solidity can also be seen by the fact that the £25m man was only dribbled past 0.5 times per game last season, while Cash, by contrast, was dribbled past once per game at right-back in the Premier League.
Equally, Kayode also averaged 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game from his 26 Serie A outings – again ahead of Cash's record of 2.5 – indicating that he can be the man to win back possession to then feed Bailey down the flank, with the Jamaican afforded the licence to get forward at will with effective defensive cover behind him.
Playing in the Champions League will be a big step up for the Fiorentina defender, but perhaps this is the challenge he requires in order to continue his rapid upward trajectory.
Emery must make a bid sooner rather than later, as he could lose out on the prospect, especially with a number of fellow Premier League clubs sniffing around.
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