Toni Villa would be a good signing for Leeds United in January
According to Wales Online, Championship leaders Leeds United are interested to sign Real Valladolid duo of Toni Villa and Ruben Alcaraz.
The same report claims that Marcelo Bielsa is keen on adding another fresh face or two, having already signed Real Madrid stopper Kiko Casilla.
Wales Online also reports that Villa is contracted to his current club till 2021 and Real Valladolid, who currently sit 14th in the La Liga, are unlikely to let the playmaker depart unless Leeds meet the buyout clause.
A product of Real Valladolid’s youth system, Villa played for the reserves from 2014 to 2016 before being sold to Segunda Division B club Cultural Leonesa. He had a wonderful season over there, helping Leonesa achieve promotion to the Segunda Division, the Spanish second tier.
Valladolid exercised their buy-back clause for the player and Villa once again proved his worth as a playmaker, steering the club to a promotion-winning campaign in the second division. The 24-year-old hasn’t looked back since then and has hit the ground running in the La Liga this term, registering 2 goals and 2 assists from 19 appearances.
Standing at just a shade over 5ft.7 inches, Toni Villa is a diminutive playmaker who is known for his wonderful technique and ability to spark creativity in the final third.
Essentially a central attacking midfielder by trade, he has also been used as a left-winger due to his pace, agility and quick feet. He knows exactly how to create space for himself with his flair, and his excellent body balance, which springs from his low centre of gravity, helps him keep exceptional close control in tight areas.
Villa has a boxful of trickery up his sleeve, leaving the defenders for dead with his dribbling skills and elegant touches. Furthermore, he can create chances for his teammates with incisive his passing and has a good eye for goal from outside the box.
To put things into perspective, Villa can certainly be a good signing for Leeds as he has the creativity to help the Peacocks in their bid for promotion. Leeds’ hopes of securing automatic promotion suffered a blow as Marcelo Bielsa’s men went down 2-1 away at Stoke City this week, with Norwich closing the gap to just a point at the top of the standings.
Although Leeds have pulled off the much-needed signing of Kiko Casilla to provide cover and competition for Bailey Peacock-Farrell, they should bring in a replacement for Samuel Saiz.
Saiz, who was one of the mainstays of Leeds’ midfield, has left Elland Road for Girona and the Peacocks have e badly missed his creativity since his departure. Moreover, someone like Toni Villa will also be an upgrade on Jack Harrison, with Ezgjan Alioski for ed to fill in at left-back to cover for the absence of Barry Douglas.
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That said, Leeds should not hesitate to trigger Villa’s release clause and bring him to Elland Road, with the transfer deadline day drawing closer.
