Aston Villa interested in Inter midfielder Matias Vecino

James Shearman

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Inter midfielder Matias Vecino has reportedly been made available for a transfer away from San Siro following interest from Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa.

Vecino is yet to make an appearance this season after undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury last year. He is now nearing his full recovery but head coach Antonio Conte does not have the midfielder in his plans.

Vecino played 29 times last season as Inter finished second in Serie A and were runners-up to Sevilla in the Europa League but several team–mates have become more appealing to Conte in his absence.

Reports in Italy state that Vecino has offers from Aston Villa and West Ham United but Vecino may be looking to work his way back in to the team.

Matias Vecino at Aston Villa?

Matias Vecino is a hard-working box-to-box midfielder, best used on the right side of a three-man midfield. Villa have performed well in a 4-3-3 formation this season, so Vecino could fit well in the side with little to no time for adaptation.

One thing to consider is that Villa star Jack Grealish has caught the eye in both a midfield and a left wing role, and would have to play the latter more often in order to accommodate the Inter player. This paves the way for a trio of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Vecino, forming a robust engine room which any team would find hard to overrun.

However, the Urugayan would likely have to make an impact from the bench initially as manager Dean Smith has settled on his preferred team. Also, on-loan Ross Barkley is set to return next week which will bolster Villa’s midfield options.

That being said, a long-term injury to McGinn had a huge impact on the team last season and so Smith may be keen on adding depth to his squad in the case of a similar situation this campaign.

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Signing Vecino would go against Villa’s recent strategy of acquiring younger talent but having someone with a wealth of experience as Villa look to secure European football may not be a bad idea.

The 29-year-old would arrive with both Champions League and International pedigree, starting all five of Uruguay’s matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

A loan move with a view to a permanent deal of around €15m is on the cards as Villa take a break from big spending after an expensive summer transfer window for the club, but manager Dean Smith has said his side will be alert to the possibility of an arrival.

“We are looking at it in general in terms of whether there is anything we need to do,” he said last week. “We are certainly not desperate in terms of players we need to bring in or go out. We have our finger on the pulse but I don’t envisage us doing an awful lot, to be honest.”

Smith added: “January windows are difficult. But yeah, it is going to be a pragmatic approach. We have a number of games until we get to January and a number of games in January.

“We will see how it goes but Johan [Lange] certainly has his fingers on the pulse.”