Aston Villa Join the Race to Sign Real Madrid Forward Endrick

So far, it has been another frustrating season in regards to consistent game time for Real Madrid forward Endrick. 

Since the beginning of the season, the 20-year old has played a total of just 10 minutes across all competitions, a cameo away to Elche. Now, he did miss the start of the season through injury, but he was fit and an unused sub against Inter Milan, Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid. 

Over the break, he played 139 minutes with the Brazil national team. In the first half of last season, he only played an accumulative 88 minutes before heading out on loan to Lyon. So, fewer minutes than in three games for Brazil. 

Well, history seems to be repeating itself once again. This felt obvious in the summer, but he stayed put in any case. Still, should the situation have not improved by January, he will surely look at his external options. 

Recently, we aggregated the news that Serie A sides, AS Roma and AC Milan, were interested in signing Endrick on loan in the winter. Well, it appears as if that queue has got even bigger. 

Indeed so, as Spanish radio statio, Cadena SER (via theMadridZone) are reporting that Premier League outfit Aston Villa are a "leading candidate" to sign the youngster, as he could play UEFA Champions League football with them. They state that he is "seriously thinking" of leaving on loan, as he believes he will not get enough minutes at Real Madrid.

This whole situation felt avoidable with a move in the summer. You would have thought the productive spell on loan at Lyon last season would have made this clear, but alas. Better late than never, and it is clear that a move on loan in January is the right thing for Endrick. 

It will be interesting to see where he does move, if he does depart on loan. There have been many successful South American and Brazilian players in Serie A, including at Roma and Milan. They tend to have less success in the Premier League, though there are always exceptions to the rule, and we know just how good a manager Unai Emery. 

That said, Gian Gasperini at Roma is also a very good manager, known for how many goals he is able to get out of his forwards - for many, many years at Atalanta but also currently at Roma too, with Donyell Malen the most recent example of this. 

Let's wait and see.