Aston Villa are preparing an offer in an attempt to bring AS Roma defender Roger Ibanez to the Premier League, according to reports.
Who is Roger Ibanez?
Ibanez is naturally a centre-back who has played his football at the Stadio Olimpico permanently since 2021 after joining following a successful loan spell from Atalanta, as per Transfermarkt, where he’s clocked up a total of 149 appearances to date.
The Brazil international still has another two years to run on his contract, but having established himself as Jose Mourinho’s second top-performing defensive player last season, he’s grabbed the attention of Unai Emery and Monchi in the Midlands.
Back in May, CalcioMercatoWeb credited the Villans with an interest in the 24-year-old and claimed that they had been monitoring him for several months, and if the following update is to be believed, the Villa hierarchy are now considering an official approach.
Are Aston Villa signing Ibanez?
According to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport (via TEAMtalk), Aston Villa will "soon submit an offer" for Ibanez. AS Roma signing Evan Ndicka means that the defender is "free to find a new club" and the English top-flight outfit are "ready to present" a bid in the hope of securing his services. The Serie A side would "accept" a fee of €25-30m (£21.4-25.7m), which is "easily within the reach" of NSWE.
Aston Villa are set to welcome Villarreal defender Pau Torres for a medical this week so it’s difficult to see why Emery would want big money new centre-backs, but should that be the case, Ibanez could be the perfect partner for the Spaniard having been dubbed “untouchable” in a starting XI by Mourinho.
The 2021/22 Europa Conference League winner was a rock at the heart of his side’s backline last season having won 33 tackles and with the second-highest success rate throughout his squad, via FBRef, not to mention that he also averaged 2.8 clearances per league game so he likes to get stuck in and clear the ball away from his area.
Finally, Ibanez, who has the versatility to operate anywhere across the backline and even two roles in the midfield, shares the same agent, Bertolucci Sports, as Diego Carlos, so this existing connection that his representative already has to the club could give them a small advantage when trying to get a deal over the line.