Aston Villa make £10m offer for Real Betis star

Aston Villa have submitted a £10m bid to sign Real Betis left-back Alex Moreno, sources have told 90min.

Unai Emery is on the hunt for squad reinforcements in his first transfer window as the club’s head coach, with their need for new recruits underlined by Sunday’s shock 2-1 loss at home to Stevenage in the FA Cup.

90min understands that Villa were one of several clubs keeping an eye on Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo as his contract in Lisbon winds down, but they have instead made an immediate move to try and bring Moreno to the West Midlands.

Villa have made an offer of £10m to sign the left-back, and while Real Betis are holding out for a slightly higher fee, there is optimism that a deal will eventually be agreed.

Should Moreno sign on the dotted line for Villa, they could possibly terminate Ludwig Augustinsson’s loan from Sevilla. The Sweden international has played just five times since swapping Andalusia for Birmingham last summer.

In addition to Villa, another unnamed side are actively in talks with Real Betis over Moreno. The 29-year-old was notably the subject of transfer interest from Nottingham Forest following their promotion to the Premier League.