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Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery and his current club Aston Villa are lining up a move for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos in the January transfer window.
This is as per Spanish outlet XCatalunya, who have reported that Villa would be keen to acquire Ceballos on a short loan until the end of the season with an option to make the deal permanent next summer.
Ceballos enjoyed a short and rather successful loan spell with Arsenal between 2019-21. He made 77 appearances for the club and also won the FA Cup with them in 2020.
The Spaniard return to his parent club Real Madrid in 2021 and has not been able to establish himself as a first-team regular under Carlo Ancelotti. The competition for midfield spots is so intense at the Santiago Bernabeu that club legends Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are struggling for game time.
Dani Ceballos has made just two appearances for Los Blancos this season, totalling up to a meagre 49 minutes. Considering he is still only 27 and still in his physical prime, Ceballos could be tempted by Aston Villa's potential promise of increased game time.
The Premier League side are willing to shell out £15.6 million to buy Ceballos, Real Madrid could be convinced to let him leave. The player failed to make a lasting impact with Arsenal and could see this as an opportunity to prove himself once again in England.
Good news for Arsenal as Thomas Partey returns to training
Arsenal will face Manchester City on Sunday, October 8 in a top-of-the-table clash between last season's main title contenders.
Both teams have injury woes heading into this clash as City will be without Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, while Gabriel Martinelli remains a doubt for the Gunners.
However, Mikel Arteta's men have some good news as Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey returned to training earlier today. He was welcomed by his teammates in a hilarious way.
You can watch the video below:
The 30-year-old has made just four appearances for the Gunners this season as Declan Rice seems to have usurped him as the first-choice defensive midfielder.
Arteta has mainly picked Partey to play as the right-back and it remains to be seen who starts between him and Benjamin White as they take on the defending champions this weekend.
