Aston Villa Competes with Liverpool for Joel Ordonez Deal

Aston Villa has entered discussions regarding the acquisition of Ecuadorian defender Joel Ordóñez from Belgian side Club Brugge during the current summer transfer window, as part of their efforts to replace the departed Ezri Konsa.

Aston Villa has approved the transfer of Konsa to Arsenal, making strengthening the defense a priority for the club, with Ordonez among the options considered to replace the English defender.

According to "The Athletic," there are communications between Aston Villa and the relevant parties regarding a deal for Ordonez, after the club previously made an offer to sign Taylor Harwood-Bellis, which was met with rejection.

Ordonez, aged 22, is attracting the attention of several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, who have been monitoring the player for some time. However, Aston Villa currently appears to be in a strong position in the race to sign him.

Sources referenced in the report indicate that Club Brugge is demanding around €45 million to agree to the departure of the Ecuadorian defender during the current summer transfer window.

Aston Villa has financial space to maneuver after selling Ezri Konsa, alongside the departures of Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans this summer. Meanwhile, Liverpool still needs to bolster its defense after Ibrahim Konaté left on a free transfer at the end of his contract, in addition to the aging of Virgil van Dijk.