Unai Emery Eyeing La Liga Defender After Rob Holding’s Season-Ending Injury – Report

Unai Emery is reportedly eyeing Fernando Calero as the boss looks for defensive reinforcements…

Unai Emery has reportedly identified Valladolid defender Fernando Calero as the man to strengthen our defence following the injury to Rob Holding at Manchester United, Cadena Ser reports.

Calero has a €11m release clause in his contract which would make any potential transfer move smoother, though the 23-year-old is being courted by Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla.

The fact that the German giants are eyeing him up may give credence to these reports given the presence of Sven Mislintat, the head of recruitment who’s been in the job for just over 12 months.

We’ve seen numerous reports stating that some of the players we’ve signed were already on Dortmund’s radar by way of Mislintat’s recommendation, and he’s brought them here instead.

Matteo Guendouzi, Dinos Mavropanos and Lucas Torreira were all reportedly on Mislintat’s radar before he joined us, and we’ve certainly benefited from his extensive contact book.

Calero isn’t necessarily a household name, but Valladolid are one of the best defensive teams in La Liga this season, conceding fewer goals than Real Madrid and Barcelona.

It will be interesting to see if our recruitment team ramps up the business in January with a winger also required given our lack of options in that department.