Journalist Josh Holland believes an Aston Villa move for Luis Suarez is “realistic” due to the connection with Steven Gerrard.
The Uruguayan striker will see his £263k-per-week deal at Atletico Madrid expire at the end of the month.
Following reports in January that Villa were keen on a move for Suarez, The Athletic has claimed that the West Midlanders are still monitoring the situation surrounding the 35-year-old.
It is said that Suarez is still in ‘regular’ contact with his former Liverpool teammate and is sizing up his options before deciding what could be the final move of his career.
The veteran sharp-shooter scored 82 goals and provided 46 assists in 133 games for Liverpool where he played alongside Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho – who has already reunited with his ex-Reds captain at Villa Park and due to the “pull” of the manager, according to Holland.
The journalist thinks that the former Barcelona goal-getter could follow in the Brazilian’s footsteps.
He told GiveMeSport:
“I think it’s only realistic because of the Steven Gerrard pull and obviously his contract is expiring in Spain, so you wouldn’t have to pay a transfer fee, but his wages could become a problem.
“Being linked with Luis Suarez will excite Villa fans, but there’s a few players that I would like to come in over Suarez that would cost a bit more, although you’d have them for a longer amount of time.”
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TIF Thoughts on Suarez to Villa…
Despite entering the twilight of his career, Suarez, who has been described as ‘extraordinary’ by Diego Simeone, has scored 34 goals in the Spanish capital across the past two seasons, including 11 in 35 La Liga matches this term.
That was despite being restricted to 20 starts, as he was used as more of an impact sub from the bench by the Atleti boss.
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West Ham youngster Sonny Perkins is thought to be attracting interest from Bodymoor Heath officials and would be more of a long-term prospect as Holland has suggested, but by bringing in Suarez on a free, it could be a win-win situation for the Villans, especially if he takes a significant wage cut.