Aston Villa are pulling off one of the smartest transfers of the summer with Leon Goretzka

Aston Villa’s summer has been dominated by difficult decisions, key departures, injuries and the financial restrictions that have made strengthening Unai Emery’s squad far more complicated than it should be, but an agreement in principle to sign Leon Goretzka represents the type of opportunity Villa simply had to take.

Jacob Tanswell and David Ornstein of The Athletic have reported that Villa have reached an agreement in principle to sign the 31-year-old midfielder on a free transfer, with the deal still subject to a medical, and after João Palhinha had been the player seemingly earmarked to bolster Emery’s midfield for much of the summer, I actually prefer the route Villa have eventually gone down.

Palhinha would have made sense. Villa have been looking for additional physical presence in midfield since discovering that Amadou Onana would miss virtually the entire season with an ACL injury, and a loan deal for a proven Premier League midfielder was hardly something I was going to complain about, but after that move dragged on and Palhinha eventually chose Benfica, Villa have turned towards a player with even greater pedigree.

Goretzka has spent eight years at Bayern Munich, has played Champions League football at the very highest level, has been a regular German international for the best part of a decade and was still heavily involved last season, rather than being somebody who had simply been sitting around waiting for his contract to expire.

That is an important distinction when assessing this deal.

There will inevitably be people who look at Goretzka being 31 and question whether Villa should be going down this route, particularly after a summer in which the squad has already required significant rebuilding, but I think there has to be some context around every signing. Villa are not paying a transfer fee for him and while there will obviously be a signing-on fee and substantial wages involved, the idea that the club are suddenly going to destroy the wage structure they have worked so hard to reduce doesn't make much sense.

Villa know exactly where they are financially, particularly with the UEFA restrictions hanging over them, and they wouldn't be doing this deal if the overall package wasn't workable.

What they are getting in return is a midfielder who gives Emery an awful lot of what he has been missing.

I spoke to German football expert Kevin Hatchard about Goretzka and one of the things he was keen to stress was that there should be no concern about his ability to get around the pitch in the Premier League. You can look at his frame and assume he might be cumbersome, but that isn't his game at all. He has the physicality, he can tackle, he is excellent in the air, he can distribute the ball and he carries a genuine goal threat, whether that is arriving into the box or striking from distance.

He also brings leadership and experience to a Villa squad that has lost an awful lot of both over the course of this summer.

For all of the problems Villa have had during this window, there is still a very good midfield taking shape when everybody is available. Boubacar Kamara, João Gomes, Barkley, Bogarde and Goretzka gives Emery four very different options, while Goretzka's ability to play slightly further forward could become particularly useful in certain games as well.

He isn't a number ten by trade and I wouldn't suddenly pretend that signing him solves Villa's need for more attacking quality behind the striker, because I still think recruitment is required there before the window closes, but he has the technical ability to operate higher up the pitch and provides something slightly different to the other central midfielders in the squad.

I also think there is a tendency when Premier League clubs sign players being released by Bayern Munich to immediately focus on why Bayern no longer want them, rather than considering the level that player has been operating at.

Bayern are one of the biggest clubs in world football. They can allow a player of Goretzka's calibre to leave, decide to become younger in that area of the pitch and move in another direction, without it meaning the player suddenly has nothing left to offer. Villa are operating at a different level financially and when an opportunity presents itself to acquire somebody with this much experience and pedigree without paying a transfer fee, it is absolutely worth exploring.

I actually think Goretzka is a better footballer than both Onana and Palhinha right now.

People will know that I have had question marks over Onana at different points. There are games where I think he looks brilliant and others where he can drift through proceedings without imposing himself enough, whereas Goretzka has spent years performing in a Bayern midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich and competing at the sharp end of the Champions League.

That doesn't mean he walks into the Premier League and everything automatically works, but Villa are not taking a punt on somebody who hasn't played at the required level. They are signing a player who has lived at that level for years.

The Emery factor appears to have been important again too. The deal was reportedly considered difficult to pull off, but after speaking to Emery, Goretzka was sold on the move, and we have seen enough examples during the manager's time at Villa to know how persuasive he can be when he gets the opportunity to explain exactly where he sees a player fitting into his plans.

There has been plenty to be frustrated about this summer. Villa have had the guts of a very good team ripped out at different stages, they have been fighting against financial regulations, significant injuries have created problems before the season has even properly started and there is still uncertainty surrounding important players with the transfer deadline approaching.

You cannot dress all of that up as positive.

Equally, when Villa do something that looks like really smart business, it should be recognised as such, and Goretzka on a free transfer falls firmly into that category for me.

Palhinha would have arrived on loan, Villa would have paid his wages for a season and, realistically, I never expected them to trigger the option to make that deal permanent. Goretzka should arrive as a Villa player, provide the experience and physical presence they wanted in midfield and potentially remain part of the squad beyond the point at which Onana returns and other midfield decisions have to be made.

Villa still have work to do before the window closes, particularly in the attacking positions, and Goretzka probably won't be the final arrival even if Ollie Watkins remains at the club.

But after everything that has happened this summer, getting a player of Leon Goretzka's quality, experience and pedigree through the door without paying a transfer fee would be a very good piece of business.

Hopefully the medical goes smoothly and the agreement becomes a completed transfer, because this is one Villa supporters should be excited about.