West Ham might have been linked with Maxi Gomez for as long as we can remember now, but a move just does not appear to be happening as much as we would like it to.
Back in January, we were thought to be extremely close to finally getting a deal over the line (Guardian) before the plug was pulled on deadline day (Evening Standard).
This summer saw all the rumours return, as Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur (El Gol Digital) were both reported to be keen on the Uruguayan ace.
Now, there would have been no shame in losing the race for his signature to the two Champions League Finalists, however the latest club to be interested in the £31.5million-rated forward (Transfermarkt) would have to make us think seriously hard about what the future holds for us if we were to miss out on him.
According to Ney Castillo, who spoke to Tiempo de Futbol (via Twitter), Aston Villa are now thought to be keen on the Celta Vigo forward.
"Me han llamado de España tambien por Maxi Gómez, habría interés del Valencia y del Aston Villa de Inglatera" Ney Castillo en Tiempo de Fútbol.
— Bambino Etchegoyen (@NDEtchegoyen) June 6, 2019
What kind of message would that send if we were to lose out on the 22-year-old to the newly-promoted Premier League side? It could potentially be a disaster for any other targets we might have in store this summer, or even in the future.
With no disrespect to Villa, we are supposed to be breaking into the top seven next season and obtain European football after the board decided to up their expectations (Claret and Hugh) – not fight against relegation again.
Whether we remain interested in Gomez remains to be seen, but should we see Aston Villa finally be the ones to acquire him, we would surely have to consider missing out on him a huge failure.
