Role played by Luis Suarez in Aston Villa’s Bentancur swoop confirmed

An insight into the surprise role played by Atletico Madrid hitman Luis Suarez in Aston Villa pushing forth with a move for Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been provided on Sunday.

Speculation surrounding the Villans’ interest in Uruguayan international Bentancur has of course been rampant over the course of the last 24 hours.

This comes with Steven Gerrard having evidently identified the middle of the park as an area in need of reinforcement ahead of the 2nd half of the campaign.

Villa’s first-choice target to appease their new boss is understood to have come in the form of Brighton standout Yves Bissouma.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Yves Bissouma of Brighton & Hove Albion breaks with the ball during the Premier League match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park on January 02, 2022 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

However, after seeing an initial offer of £25 million for the Malian knocked back by their counterparts at the Amex, the board at Villa Park have since turned their attentions firmly towards Juve’s Bentancur.

And now, on Sunday, an insight into the influence of fellow countryman Luis Suarez on the Claret and Blue’s sudden interest in the 24-year-old has been provided.

As per a report from John Percy of The Telegraph, after being sought out for advice, Suarez provided one-time Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard with a ‘glowing reference’ of Bentancur’s talents, culminating in the former Boca Juniors talent emerging as Villa’s new no.1 midfield target this month:

Luis Suarez has provided Steven Gerrard with a glowing reference on #avfc target Rodrigo Bentacur. Juventus midfielder & Uruguay international now #1 choice at DCM after Villa’s £25m bid for Yves Bissouma rejected by Brighton. Talks to continue this week, as per @TomCollomosse

— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) January 23, 2022

Villans stocking up

The capture of Bentancur over the course of the coming week would of course add further to a stellar January transfer window being enjoyed by Aston Villa to date.

The Midlands outfit, evidently intent on making up for a disappointing opening to the campaign, have already brought in not one, but two high-profile players this month.

The first came in the form of Philippe Coutinho, followed swiftly by Lucas Digne.

And both stars have since quickly made their mark at the club, Coutinho in finding the net on his debut off the bench against Manchester United, and Digne with the assist for the Villans’ only goal in a 1-0 downing of Everton on Saturday.

An absolutely brilliant header from Emi Buendía gives Aston Villa the lead going into the break! 💥

Former Everton man Lucas Digne provides the assist 🅰️ pic.twitter.com/Sbq9F0Nvt6

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 22, 2022

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	23	41	57
2	Liverpool FC	21	37	45
3	Chelsea FC	23	28	44
4	Manchester United	22	6	38
5	West Ham United	23	10	37
6	Tottenham Hotspur	19	4	36
7	Arsenal FC	20	8	35
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	21	3	34
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	21	0	29
10	Aston Villa	21	-4	26
11	Leicester City	19	-3	25
12	Southampton FC	22	-8	25
13	Crystal Palace	21	-1	24
14	Brentford FC	23	-12	23
15	Leeds United	21	-16	22
16	Everton FC	20	-11	19
17	Norwich City	22	-32	16
18	Newcastle United	21	-22	15
19	Watford FC	20	-17	14
20	Burnley FC	17	-11	11

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	16
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	10
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	9
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	8
Raphinha	Leeds United	8
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	8
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	7
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	7
Maupay, Neal	Brighton & Hove Albion	7
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	7
Silva, Bernardo	Manchester City	7
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	6
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	6
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	6
Maddison, James	Leicester City	6

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	7
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	6
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	6
Rice, Declan	West Ham United	0	6
Westwood, Ashley	Burnley FC	0	6
Alonso, Marcos	Chelsea FC	0	6
Norgaard, Christian	Brentford FC	0	6
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	6
Laporte, Aymeric	Manchester City	1	5
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	6
Llorente, Diego	Leeds United	0	6
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	6
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United	0	5
Ward, Joel	Crystal Palace	0	6
Skipp, Oliver	Tottenham Hotspur	0	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	0	4
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	5
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	1	4
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	1	4

Player	Team	Assists
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	10
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	8
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	8
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	7
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	7
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	7
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	6
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	5
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	5
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	5
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	5
Kovacic, Mateo	Chelsea FC	5
Redmond, Nathan	Southampton FC	5
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	4
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	4
Benrahma, Said	West Ham United	4
Doucoure, Abdoulaye	Everton FC	4
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	4
Rice, Declan	West Ham United	4