Yahoo News Newcastle United twist may scupper Unai Emery's €30m Aston Villa transfer plan
If Unai Emery was hoping to reunite with Matteo Guendouzi at Aston Villa, he may have to do so with strong competition from Premier League rivals Newcastle United.
Ever since the Spaniard's formative Villa days, he has been tipped to make a move for the midfielder he originally brought to the Premier League when with Arsenal. Guendouzi moved to the Emirates Stadium for a reported £7m, but in the long run under Mikel Arteta, this switch did not work out as once hoped.
He later turned out for Marseille before completing a loan switch to Lazio at the start of the 2023/24 campaign. He made 46 appearances across all competitions and as stipulated in his contract, automatically completed a permanent €13m when it was mathematically confirmed the Italians would finish 12th or higher in Serie A.
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Even if freshly named a fully fledged Lazio player, this didn't prevent suggestions the Frenchman would seek an immediate exit from Rome as a result of a poor relationship with his manager, Igor. The club's sporting director quickly sought to throw cold water on such rumours, yet still they persist.
According to Calcio Mercato, Guendouzi now stands in a much greater position to continue in Italy. This is because Tudor - who he originally fell out with at Marseille - has now vacated his job and so there will be no friction.
They do however recognise that anything can be 'exposed to the winds of the market'. They claim the midfielder has been tempted to move back to the English top-flight amid Emery 's alleged admiration, but now Newcastle and Eddie Howe have been installed alongside Villa as new suitors.
Ultimately, Lazio's not for sale stance reportedly still stands. Only an offer north of €30m (£25.3m) is believed to be able to change this, as the Italian outlet concludes: "The story between Guendouzi and Lazio is not safe from twists and turns."
