Gustavo Puerta to Aston Villa from Racing Santander
Gustavo Puerta · Incoming transfer · Racing Santander
Verdict Delivered
This rumor DIED. It was dropped from the board after going quiet, last rated 1%.
State of play
| Move | Racing Santander → Villa |
| Outcome | Never happened |
| Rated at the end | 1% |
| Resolved | September 2nd |
Off. Nottingham Forest, the other club named against Villa since Football Insider's August 20th report of Emery's "direct request," have reached a verbal agreement to sign Puerta, journalist Felipe Sierra reported on August 31st: Forest would pay the €20m release clause at Racing Santander and immediately loan him to sister club Olympiacos for the season. No Villa approach to Racing Santander was ever reported, and Villa's midfield search moves on; Onana's ACL injury remains the underlying need.
How the Story Moved
| Date | What changed | |
|---|---|---|
| August 20th | Tracked | Rumor opened on the board at 11% (linked) — source: Football Insider (Harri Burton), citing LAFM. A new name for a midfield already thinned by Amadou Onana's season-ending ACL injury. Football Insider reported on August 20th, citing the Colombian outlet LAFM's report from the previous day, that a "direct request" has come from Unai Emery to sign Gustavo Puerta, the 23-year-old Colombian international holding midfielder at Racing Santander, this summer. Villa are described as "leading contender" and "best positioned," with the report citing a EUR 20m (£17.2m) release clause Villa would be willing to trigger; Nottingham Forest are named as the other club in the race, having entered earlier in the window. No approach to Racing Santander has been reported and no bid has followed. LAFM is a Colombian radio outlet outside the source registry's foreign-beat list, and Football Insider itself is capped at tier 3, so this sits at linked pending independent corroboration. The same piece notes Barcelona's Marc Bernal, tracked elsewhere on this board, is now regarded as unaffordable for Villa this summer. |
| September 1st | Moved | Likelihood fell from 11% to 1% (off). Off. Nottingham Forest, the other club named against Villa since Football Insider's August 20th report of Emery's "direct request," have reached a verbal agreement to sign Puerta, journalist Felipe Sierra reported on August 31st: Forest would pay the €20m release clause at Racing Santander and immediately loan him to sister club Olympiacos for the season. No Villa approach to Racing Santander was ever reported, and Villa's midfield search moves on; Onana's ACL injury remains the underlying need. |
| September 2nd | Verdict | Rumor died — dropped from the board at 1% |
Timeline since the rumor joined the board.