‘Versatile’ Barcelona defender close to sealing Aston Villa transfer: report
Barcelona defender Héctor Fort is reportedly close to reaching an agreement with Aston Villa this summer.
Villa are apparently at the final stage of their effort to sign the 19-year-old. Barcelona racing against time to register one-time Villa target Joan García and former Villa loanee Marcus Rashford and must offload players in order to do so.
The clubs are expected to meet soon to seal the deal for the defender, who has been mainly deployed at either right-back or left-back. According to Tribuna, Villa are ready to pay a fee in the region of £13 million for the full-back, whose contract is set to expire in 2026.
His arrival at Villa Park would add to the squad depth in the full-back positions and would be likely to compete with Andrés García as a back-up or alternative to Matty Cash in the right-back position. Fort’s versatility, pace and ability on the ball would suit Unai Emery‘s tactics.
A versatile La Masia graduate
Fort is a product of the Barcelona academy. He made his debut with the senior team in the 2023/24 season under the tutelage of Xavi Hernandez. He instantly made an impact in the Copa del Rey match versus UD Barbastro by setting up one of the goals as the Blaugrana won 3-2 on the road.
He went on to make ten appearances in the same season, including one match at the last fixture of the group stage in the Champions League against Royal Antwerp.
He contributed two more assists in La Liga matches against Deportivo Alaves and Almeria, when he was deployed as a left-back.
Last season, he was fielded 20 times, mainly at right-back. Fort also played two games in the Champions League. The first one was when the Catalan giant thrashed BSC Young Boys 5-0 in the league phase. The second was the semi-final second-leg against Inter Milan.
Fort is yet to be called up for the senior team but he has been part of La Furia Roja at different age group levels.
He has earned nine caps with Spain Under-19s and made 15 appearances with Spain Under-17s including in the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia. Fort provided one assist in the second game at the group stage in a narrow 1-0 win over Mali.
The post ‘Versatile’ Barcelona defender close to sealing Aston Villa transfer: report appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.