---
title: "Aston Villa: Ashley Preece reacts to Rodrigo Bentancur move"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/ashley-preece-reacts-bentancur-spurs-transfer/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Charlie Smith"
section: "Aston Villa"
published: "2022-02-01T12:45:14Z"
modified: "2022-02-01T12:45:14Z"
---

# Aston Villa: Ashley Preece reacts to Rodrigo Bentancur move

**Aston Villa reporter [Ashley Preece](https://twitter.com/preeceobserver/status/1488194315570581505?s=21) poked fun at Tottenham’s move for midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur on deadline day.**

### The Lowdown: Villa keen

Villa were after a new midfielder throughout January and appeared to turn their attention to the Uruguay international after having a [bid rejected](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-transfers-bissouma-bentancur-22847891) for Brighton’s Yves Bissouma.

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Steven Gerrard and co firmed up their interest in Bentancur and were [hopeful](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10440359/Aston-Villa-remain-hopeful-signing-Juventus-midfielder-Rodrigo-Bentancur.html) of securing a move for the Uruguayan. However, after launching a [£20.8m bid](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jan/28/aston-villa-rodrigo-bentancur-bid-turned-down-by-juventus-transfer), it was Spurs who secured the 24-year-old’s services, [announcing](https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2022/january/bentancur-completes-move/) a move in the final hours of the transfer window.

### The Latest: Preece reacts

[Preece](https://twitter.com/preeceobserver/status/1488194315570581505?s=21) took to Twitter on Monday and replied to Spurs’ announcement on Bentancur.

He poked fun at the deal following the strong Villa Park links, saying: “Never heard of him!?” and adding a stuck-out tongue and winking emoji.

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### The Verdict: Not a disaster

Even though Villa were clearly big admirers of Bentancur, it may not be the end of the world that they missed out on his signature.

Villa wanted to bolster their holding midfield ranks with Marvelous Nakamba [injured](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/marvelous-nakambas-injury-details-revealed-22557621), but Bentancur is primarily a central midfielder. He has played as a defensive midfielder on just [48](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/rodrigo-bentancur/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/354362) occasions during his career compared to [156](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/rodrigo-bentancur/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/354362) as a central midfielder, so he wouldn’t have been a like-for-like alternative to the Zimabwean.

Therefore, waiting until the summer to pursue Bissouma could be a wiser move, when hopefully Brighton’s [£45m+](https://theathletic.com/3102960/2022/01/31/villas-impressive-window-moves-them-on-as-a-club-even-without-a-new-defensive-midfielder/) asking price will drop ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, as the Mali international will be into the final 12 months of his [contract](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/yves-bissouma/profil/spieler/410425) at the Amex Stadium.

***In other news: [‘Hats off to the board’ – Sky Sports pundit purrs at ‘amazing’ out-of-the-blue Villa transfer news](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/aston-villa-news/kevin-phillip-praise-villa-callum-chambers-signing/)***