It’s little wonder that Steven Gerrard is happy with his lot at Aston Villa at present.
A fine away win at Everton put a smile on the former Liverpool man’s face at full-time, and news that Luis Suarez has given a glowing reference to a potential target will surely have added to his good mood.
It’s believed that Brighton and Hove Albion turned down a £25m bid for their brilliant defensive midfielder, Yves Bissouma, so Villa have turned their attentions elsewhere.
Rather than look for a solution in the Premier League, Villa have broadened their horizons to the rest of Europe, and to Italy in particular.
According to a tweet from Telegraph’s John Burt, the club’s No.1 target now is Juventus star, Rodrigo Bentancur.
MORE: Owen’s Liverpool prediction
The midfielder is a colleague of Suarez’s at international level, and it goes without saying that Gerrard will have sought the counsel of the player that he believes is the best he’s ever played alongside.
Luis Suarez has provided Steven Gerrard with a glowing reference on #avfc target Rodrigo Bentacur. Juventus midfielder & Uruguay international now #1 choice at DCM after Villa’s £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton. Talks to continue this week, as per @TomCollomosse
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) January 23, 2022
It’s said that Bentancur is now the number one choice for Gerrard and that talks will continue next week in the hope of bringing him to the Midlands-based outfit.
Gerrard has had a mixed bag of results since he took over, but as he begins to shape the side as he would like, things should start to look much more positive.
Bentancur would be a clever signing given that he has that great ability to break up play and then instantly find his range with defence-splitting passes.
If that’s the type of target that Villa are now aiming for, the rest of the Premier League need to watch out.