Alex Baena has been the standout performer for Villarreal over the past 18 months, as well as one of La Liga's best players over the same period. The double-edged sword in this scenario, however, is that his level of performances has meant that a number of clubs have been interested in signing him.
Baena will not leave during the ongoing winter transfer window, but there is a strong chance he moves on at the end of the season. Villarreal would begrudgingly allow this to happen, although a deal would not be cheap for any of the interested parties.
As reported by Diario AS, Villarreal are willing to let Baena leave for less than his €60 million release clause, but it would still take a €50 million offer for the yellow sub to make a deal happen . This may be considered surprising, considering that a number of big-money sales have taken place at La Ceramica in recent years.
In this case it would be a club record sale, as the largest amount previously received by Villarreal was €40 million (twice in 2016, Eric Bailly to Manchester United and Cedric Bakambu to Beijing Gouan in 2018).
Baena has been linked with several Premier League clubs in recent months, while Atletico Madrid have him as their leading summer transfer target. They will be able to catch their eye on Saturday when Villarreal visit the Metropolitano in a mouth-watering clash.
It would be a huge blow for Villarreal to lose Baena, but given that they are a club willing to let their best players leave when the time is right, it makes sense that a deal would happen. The big task would then be to find a suitable replacement, which is much easier said than done.
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