Aston Villa are reportedly interested in Roma defender Roger Ibanez, as Unai Emery bids to bolster his backline this summer.
Monchi has all but confirmed his first signing in his tenure at the club, with blockbuster centre-back Pau Torres set to join his former coach by trading La Liga for the Premier League.
Another central defender could follow suit, if rumours linking Ibanez to the Midlands are to be believed, in a move that could suggest a tantalising partnership to be heralded at Villa Park next season.
As reported by Corriere dello Sport – relayed by TEAMtalk – Villa are ‘ready to present’ an offer for the Brazilian, who has also gained interest from Tottenham.
Valued by his club between the €25m-€30m (£21m-26m) mark as per the report, the Villans could grab a bargain in a defensive remastering, with Roma reportedly allowing the 24-year-old to depart after signing Evan Ndicka from Eintracht Frankfurt.
How good is Roger Ibanez?
If speculation is to be believed, it’s difficult to comprehend how the Brazilian may be allowed to exit Roma so swiftly, with manager Jose Mourinho singing his praises just last season.
The ever-charismatic coach described the centre-back as being an “untouchable” figure in his side, following a string of strong performances in defence for I Giallorossi.
Praise from Mourinho is rare indeed, with his performances warranted by his numbers, averaging in the top five of Roma’s best-performing individuals in Serie A last campaign, registering an average match rating of 7.00, via Sofascore.
The Brazilian’s performances impressed beyond the walls of Rome, with FBref highlighting him as being in the top 3% of centre-backs in Europe in terms of interceptions, averaging a monstrous 2.19 per 90, to showcase his innate reading of the game.
For Villa, Emery could seal the signing of a second impressive central defender this summer, and a player that could be a perfect partner at the back for the inbound Torres.
The numbers accumulated by the duo over their respective league campaign’s tell a story that could imply that they could come together to provide Emery with the perfect concoction of defensive cover.
Lauded as being the “best defender in Serie A” last season by scout Antonio Mango, Ibanez won 63% of his total duels in the league, winning 5.7 duels per game for his side.
While Torres is an artful defender, the Spaniard excels in his progressive play, acting as one of the best in Europe in his position in terms of getting the ball out from the back, as shown through his 5.81 progressive passes per 90 in La Liga, via FBref.
Ibanez emerges as the more combative figure in central defence, with his average of 2.16 tackles and 2.19 interceptions to the Villarreal ace’s 1.27 tackles and 0.38 interceptions per 90, as per FBref comparisons.
The Spaniard, however, could add a calming fuel to Ibanez’s fire with his distribution away from danger, as suggested through his 2.24 progressive carries and 5.51 passes into the final third per 90 to the Brazilian’s 0.77 progressive carries and 2.29 final third passes.
Emery could fuse together two contrasting centre-backs in their approaches to the art of defending to create a firm partnership to protect the goal at Villa Park.