Aston Villa are adamant about the asking price set for wantaway midfielder Enzo Barrenechea amid interest from Spanish and Portuguese teams.

According to Marca via Sport Witness, Aston Villa are not prepared to rush through a sale of out-of-favour midfielder Enzo Barrenechea. There are solid links to clubs in Spain and Portugal, as Aston Villa are willing to bide their time and demand the €12 million price tag placed on the midfielder.

Enzo Barrenechea’s future is far away from Aston Villa, despite being viewed as a highly-rated talent. He was considered a top-level prospect for the future during his time in Italy, as Aston Villa completed an €8 million deal from Juventus last summer.

The midfielder was never seen as a key transfer target by the Birmingham side, as he may have been made a part of a complicated deal to sell Douglas Luiz to Juventus. Aston Villa wasted no time in sending the Argentine on loan to Valencia, where he was a prominent fixture in the lineup.

Valencia are keen to sign Enzo Barrenechea again, and they had opened talks earlier. However, Aston Villa’s demands of €12 million to sell the midfielder outright did not suit the Spanish side. They are not alone in the race, as Real Betis have also shown an interest in Barrenechea.

Benfica are also angling for a move to bring the €12 million-rated midfielder to Portugal, where they are joined by FC Porto in the race. Earlier reports from Portugal insisted that Benfica were rapidly trying to secure a deal, but it appears Aston Villa are not ready to budge on their €12 million asking price and are ready to wait.

Aston Villa’s stance on Enzo Barrenechea

Barrenechea is not wanted at Aston Villa, but that should not give clubs the idea that an easy deal can be done with the English side. In fact, Unai Emery’s team are willing to bide their time until a viable offer arrives in the bracket of the €12 million demanded by the club.

Should they fail to find a buyer, the advantage will be Valencia’s, who will reportedly have another chance to take Enzo Barrenechea on a season-long loan deal. Hence, from Los Che’s perspective, they will hope no club comes in with the right offer for the €12 million-rated midfielder, although Aston Villa will be keen to get the player off their books at the earliest.