€11m market value
Fenerbahce closing in – Why Aston Villa are allowing CB Diego Carlos to leave this January
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Brazilian centre-half Diego Carlos was brought to Aston Villa from Sevilla for a fee of €31 million back in 2022. It remains to this day the second most the club have ever paid for a centre-half, only behind the €33m deal for Pau Torres in 2023. During the last three years, whilst being a loyal servant for the club, Carlos has never really been able to nail down his place regularly in the Villa side. Disrupted by injury, Carlos has missed 35 games in three seasons, and this January it looks as though Villa are ready to cash in on the 31 year old.
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| Diego Carlos | ||||||||||
| Centre-Back | ||||||||||
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Recent reports suggest that Turkish giants Fenerbahce are closing on an €11m deal for Diego Carlos, with the Brazilian set to arrive in Turkey this Monday evening. Their Süper Lig rivals Galatasaray had also previously held interest but now appeared to have pulled out of the deal. It would be the Turkish side’s first piece of business this January, whilst Aston Villa have already sold Jaden Philogene to Ipswich (€23.7m fee), and brought in Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund (€25m fee). So why as we enter the crucial second half of the season are Villa willing to let Carlos leave the club this January?
Why Aston Villa are willing to let Diego Carlos leave for Fenerbahce
This season, Carlos has made just 10 Premier League appearances, only playing 42% of Aston Villa’s minutes in the English top-flight. A foot injury has been partly behind that, but the Brazilian has also found himself on the substitutes bench on many occasions. With Tyrone Mings having now returned from an ACL injury that saw him miss most of last season, it appears Mings, Ezri Konsa and the injured Torres are all now ahead of Carlos in the pecking order. However, with Torres still expected to be out until around March, Unai Emery’s team may be leaving themselves a little short at centre-half, and could dip back into the transfer market before the window shuts on February 3.
Market Value
L. Badé
Centre-Back
€25.00m
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has recently reported that the Villains are now stepping up their attempts to find a replacement, with Sevilla centre-back Loic Badé, who has a rumoured €60m release clause in his contract with the LaLiga side, set to be one of the club’s main targets. In signing Carlos, Fenerbahce are acquiring a centre-back with a wealth of experience. The 31 year old won the Europa League with Sevilla back in 2019, and has made 249 appearances in Europe’s top-five leagues.