Aston Villa identify River Plate midfielder – Villa in there before Argentina call-up

Aston Villa are already being linked with Tobías Andrada, just a couple of months after the midfielder joined River Plate.

The 22-year-old moved from Vélez Sarsfield at the end of July and has quickly found a place in manager Leonardo Ponzio’s side. That appears to have been enough to put him on Aston Villa’s radar.

Argentine outlet El Crack Deportivo reports the Premier League club have shown interest in Andrada following his performances for River.

There’s nothing particularly advanced at this stage. No talks or offers are mentioned, and the Argentine website itself makes clear this is currently just transfer talk.

Still, Andrada’s start at River helps explain why his name is already being pushed towards Europe.

Aston Villa watching a quick River success

Andrada has played eight official matches since arriving at River, scoring once. More importantly, he’s quickly established himself as a regular.

Ponzio has won his first three matches since taking charge and Andrada is presented as one of the players benefiting from the manager’s arrival.

El Crack Deportivo says other European clubs have also taken notice, although Aston Villa are the only one named.

The midfielder is apparently attracting attention elsewhere too. Argentina’s coaching staff are said to be following him closely and are happy with his performances.

A senior call-up is therefore being presented as a possibility if he keeps this up.

River are in a strong position

Should Aston Villa decide to take this any further, River have very little reason to make things easy for them.

They only signed Andrada in July and initially paid around €5.1m (£4.4m) for 70% of his rights. The deal can eventually reach around €9.4m (£8.1m) for 80% if agreed objectives are met. He also signed a contract running until December 2030.

For now, this looks like a player who has settled very quickly at River and is starting to attract attention. Maybe the interest comes from his Vélez days, but still Aston Villa are the first Premier League club being put in the picture.