Aston Villa have offered a contract to Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio, sources have confirmed to 90min.
The Spaniard's nine-year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu is scheduled to come to an end this summer, with the contract extension he penned in 2017 expiring at the end of June.
Asensio's preference had been to remain at Real Madrid if he could fight his way into Carlo Ancelotti's starting plans more regularly, but the 27-year-old has been left frustrated by his lack of starts in La Liga and the Champions League.
Indeed, he has played just 42% of the minutes available in La Liga and just 29% in continental competition, despite scoring 12 goals.
"I don’t know anything about Asensio, just like I don’t know about others like Nacho. It’ll all be clarified in the coming weeks," Ancelotti said of his future after the 2-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday. "I would be sad if they left because they have been and are important players for us. Whatever they decide, we’ll plan accordingly."
Sources have now confirmed to 90min that Aston Villa, who will compete in the Europa Conference League next season after making incredible progress under Unai Emery, have made a move to sign Asensio on a free transfer, offering him the chance to move to England once his Real Madrid deal runs out.
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Villa have also had their eye on Barcelona duo Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati in a bid to strengthen their wing options, but the opportunity to prise Asensio away for free would represent tremendous business given his impressive résumé.
Asensio has won 16 major honours at Real Madrid, including three La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns, and has also courted interest from Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Marseille.
Arsenal are also impressed by Asensio and are known to be keen on strengthening Mikel Arteta's forward options. Contact has been made with Barcelona over Torres and former Leeds winger Raphinha, who could both be available this summer as the Catalan giants look for ways to fund a previously unfathomable return to Camp Nou for Lionel Messi.
But the Gunners could yet to turn Asensio, as there would be no transfer fee involved, and 90min understands that the player is interested in moving to the Premier League.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Aston Villa offer contract to Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio.