The Daily Mail have suggested that Aston Villa have joined the likes of Arsenal, Everton, Villarreal and Sevilla in their liking for Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega, while local sources in Lancashire claim that the club have not ended their interest in Charles N’Zogbia and are still keen to press on with a potential deal.
The Mail’s article reports that Wigan have valued Rodallega at £15m while opinions on the price tag for N’Zogbia vary wildly. The 25-year-old winger is in a similar situation to that of Ashley Young prior to his move to United in that he has just 12 months remaining on his contract. As it did with the former Villa man, this will reduce the France international’s value significantly, with initial figures mooted at around £9m. However, since then, comments from the likes of Wigan chairman Dave Whelan have led some to suggest that his asking price has moved closer to the tune of £20m.
This summer’s supposed interest is not the first that the club have seemingly showed in the Wigan duo as Alex McLeish looks to rebuild his squad after the loss of a number of first teamers, with an immediate replacement for Young having been made more of a priority due to Stewart Downing’s precarious position at the club. N’Zogbia would no doubt fit the bill, whereas any potential Rodallega capture may lead to a rethink in the side’s formation having formally adopted Darren Bent as a lone striker.
The Latics duo finished as joint top scorers in the league under Martinez last term with 9 while N’Zogbia trumped his team-mate with 5 assists to the Colombian’s 1. The South American attempted a team high of 2.8 shots per game while Frenchman N’Zogbia finished 2nd with 1.6. In terms of pass success rate, N’Zogbia’s score of 78% again bettered Rodallega’s 71% as well as completing double the striker’s key passes per game average with 2. Where N’Zogbia stands above the rest in the league is with regards to the amount of successful dribbles he completes per game, with his figure of 3.2 eclipsing everyone else in the Premier League.
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