Unai Emery’s Aston Villa have tabled an offer to sign Olympique Marseille defensive mainstay Michael Amir Murillo.

According to El Siglo via SportWitness, Aston Villa have already made multiple attempts to sign Michael Amir Murillo this summer. Unai Emery wants more depth and quality at the back and his team are pushing to add the Olympique Marseille sensation to their squad.

Murillo joined the Ligue 1 outfit in the summer of 2023 from Anderlecht. The debut season didn’t really go according to plan for the Panama international as he was only involved in 25 matches and played all across the backline.

However, things have improved a lot for him under Roberto De Zerbi this time around. He has been involved in a total of 32 matches and has racked up over 2,600 minutes. He has been an important player under the Italian manager who has extensively used him in the heart of the defence and his preferred right-back role.

Villa working hard to sign Murillo

His impressive performances have caught Aston Villa’s attention and they are trying to sign the 29-year-old despite him having a contract at Marseille until 2028. They have already made two attempts to bring him to Birmingham.

While the exact value of the offers hasn’t been revealed, the French giants have turned down both those bids. They have made it quite clear that they will only let him leave for a fee worth €25 million.

Unai Emery is someone who prefers working with versatile players as it provides him with more tactical flexibility. They see Murillo as an ideal fit for his system and are pushing hard to get a deal over the line.

Villa added Andres Garcia to their squad in the winter to provide competition for Matty Cash. As a result, it will be interesting to see whether one of them moves on to make room for Murillo, or if the club signs the Panama international to add depth to the heart of the defence and provide cover on the flanks.

Having failed to qualify for the Champions League, it will certainly be difficult for them to convince him to leave Marseille, who will take part in the marquee even next season. More importantly, it’s not yet clear if Villa are willing to meet the French club’s demands.