Atletico Madrid seem to have a thing for Premier League right-backs at the moment, and they’re not looking to be without a new one for long.
After the sale of Kieran Trippier to Newcastle United earlier in the window, the reigning La Liga champions have been forced to deploy Sime Vrsaljko and Marcos Llorente at right-back.
While these are both dependable options, the former was the natural second-choice behind Trippier while the latter found a new lease of life playing as a right midfielder last season, as opposed to his normal role of defensive midfield.
As a result, Diego Simeone’s side are ready to splash the cash and bring in the fortunately named Matty Cash from Aston Villa.
According to The Sun, Villa will need to brace themselves for a bid of up to £40m, which is a big figure for a mid-table Premier League player.
Granted, Cash definitely falls into the better half of right-backs when discussing the many options in the position in the league. Indeed you would probably be hard pressed to find an era with more quality in the position in the English top division at one time ever.
While the summer is the expected time for the move to happen, late January transfers are never completely off the table if the money is right.
And after the acquisition of Calum Chambers from Arsenal it’s not like the club are no longer covered in the position.
Maybe Villa know something we don’t.