Aston Villa and Liverpool ‘closely monitoring’ Spanish prospect compared to Barcelona star

Aston Villa are said to be ‘closely monitoring’ reported Liverpool and Arsenal transfer target Alberto Moleiro.

The Las Palmas midfielder is attracting interest from a number of big-name clubs after firming establishing himself as one of Spanish football’s most eye-catching talents. Despite being just 19-years-old, Moleiro has over 60 appearances for the second tier club and has been compared to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri.

The Catalan giants are believed to be long-term admirers of the Spain Under-21 star, with former Las Palmas manager Pepe Mel discussing the possibility of Moleiro moving to the Camp Nou and comparisons with Pedri in an interview given to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo last year.

He said “Their maturation processes are different and they are different footballers. Pedri makes his teammates better because he is always well placed to give continuity and Moleiro is able to position himself with just one control in the danger zone. The two could be complementary in the same team. I say it in the case of the club that already has Pedri.”

Moleiro remained with Las Palmas once the summer transfer window closed and has played a lead role in their push to the top of the La Liga 2 table by providing five assists in 20 games. He also landed a maiden call-up to the Spain Under-21 squad in September and made his debut as a late substitute in a 4-1 win against Romania.

Interest is continuing to grow and there were reports Liverpool were keen to add the youngster to their squad this month as Jurgen Klopp considers a revamp of the Reds midfield. But the Daily Mail have now reported Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has considering a move for Moleiro as he looks to put his own stamp on the squad he inherited from predecessor Steven Gerrard earlier this season.

Speaking this week, the Spaniard said: “We are speaking and we are working on the possibility to add some players. We are speaking as well with some players who can leave. Really, I want to improve everything we can in the squad but I’m so happy with the players because I think we have very good players. But, of course, we can improve and we can add in some position because I think we are not plentiful in the positions in the squad that I want. The next four weeks, we are going to try to add some players but, really, only if they improve our team.”