Arsenal & Man City Enter Transfer Race for Oscar Mingueza as Aston Villa Face Battle for Free Agent Defender
Ben McAleer
Arsenal and Manchester City are ready to rival Aston Villa in the race to sign Celta Vigo full-back Oscar Mingueza, reports TEAMtalk.
The 26-year-old is out of contract in the summer, and his availability has attracted interest from the Premier League.
Villa are expected to strengthen at right-back in the off-season to provide cover and competition for Matty Cash.
As things stand, Lamine Bogarde and Andres Garcia are Cash’s deputies in the role, but head coach Unai Emery is looking to bring a specialist in the position to Villa Park.
Villa face competition in Mingueza pursuit
The Villans, though, face a battle on their hands in their bid to land Mingueza amidst reports that the Premier League title contenders are set to enter the race to sign the Spaniard.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta is already able to utilise Jurrien Timber and Ben White at right-back.
However, the latter has been linked with a summer exit in pursuit of regular first team football having dropped behind the former in the right-back pecking order.
In addition, Mingueza is able to cover at left-back, and this positional versatility is a desirable trait for head coach Arteta.
City expected to target a new right-back
City, meanwhile, are expected to dip into the market to bring in a new right-back in the off-season and have been linked with moves for Tino Livramento and Michael Kayode of Newcastle and Brentford, respectively.
Mingueza would provide a cost-effective alternative to the pair, with the Magpies and the Bees expected to demand a hefty fee for their first-choice right-backs.
Liverpool and Tottenham have also been credited with an interest, though their squad priorities lie elsewhere at this point in time.
City have chance to close gap on Arsenal
City have the chance to close the gap to Arsenal to six points with a game in hand when they take on Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners missed the opportunity to open up a 12-point gap at the top of the Premier League table as they fell to a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Villa, meanwhile, are able to leapfrog Manchester United into third when they travel to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
