Aston Villa reportedly made an enquiry over the possibility of securing a transfer deal for Atletico Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia during the latter stages of the recent summer window.
According to a recent report from Marca (via Sport Witness), the Midlands club asked an agent to find out whether it would be possible for them to strike a deal with Atletico to sign their midfield man.
The report also adds that it was considered to be too late to agree on the formalities of a potential deal for the player.
Bearing in mind how it was reported back in April that Steven Gerrard had personally scouted the 29-year-old when Atletico played Manchester City in the Champions League last season, it’s easy to see why they may have considered making a late move for him before the recent summer transfer window closed.
His performance in that game against Pep Guardiola’s side was described as “impressive” by Statman Dave on Twitter.
After making 104 appearances for Valencia, during which he scored seven goals and provided nine assists, the midfielder joined his current club in November 2020.
Since then, Kondogbia has made 68 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side across all competitions, chipping in with one goal and two assists.
Taking into account how Villa were at risk of potentially losing Douglas Luiz on deadline day with Arsenal making three bids to sign him, all of which were rejected, it’s understandable why there may have been a point where they looked to sign Kondogbia as a potential replacement for the Brazilian had he left.
However, had the Villans been able to secure a deal for the Atletico figure, they may have been getting themselves an upgrade on their current midfielder.
For example, to compare both players from their previous league seasons, Kondogbia racked up a higher combined total of tackles and interceptions than Luiz (103 vs 125), as well as more clearances (31 vs 29) and a higher percentage for successful pressures (35.5% vs 29.8%), even though he made six fewer appearances than the Brazilian.
