Aston Villa are preparing a formal bid of up to €80 million to sign Marc Bernal – the 19-year-old midfielder at FC Barcelona. That is a clear wish from Unai Emery.
Villa management want to sign the Catalan youngster to replace Youri Tielemans, who recently left for Manchester United. However, the Barcelona management refuses to sell – they consider Bernal a strategic player with a contract until 2029.
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Emery has singled out Bernal as a top priority
Unai Emery has named Bernal as his main target for Aston Villa’s midfield ahead of the 2026/27 season. After the sale of Tielemans to United is completed, Villa have solid liquidity – and are planning to raise their initial bid of £30 million to an €80 million structure to convince the Catalan management.
FC Barcelona have already rejected previous bids of around £25 million for the 19-year-old. The club’s stance at Camp Nou is clear: they do not want to negotiate for the midfielder, citing the contract that runs until June 2029.
Barça resists Premier League interest
Barcelona have also rejected a recent enquiry from Manchester City about the youngster – and confirmed that he is not for sale under the current circumstances. In addition to Unai Emery’s interest, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Atlético Madrid are also following the situation closely.
Despite Barcelona’s clear no, Aston Villa is the club that shows the greatest financial willingness to complete the transfer in this window. Barcelona believe that the player should be given a key role in the first team in the 2026/27 season – making any deal under the buyout clause difficult.
Formal bid in the first week of August
The Aston Villa management will formalize the offer in writing at Barcelona’s offices during the first week of August 2026. The English club’s goal is to test Barcelona’s financial strength with a bid of €80 million – before exploring other options in the midfield market.
One thing is for sure: The battle for Marc Bernal is on. And Aston Villa are willing to empty their wallets.
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