According to some media in the Netherlands and confirmed by ARA, Vilhena will arrive in Barcelona this Monday to undergo the corresponding medical examination while the two clubs have just closed the fringes of the negotiations. Espanyol, with a narrow salary margin – less than 400,000 euros – are demanding that Krasnodar take charge of much of the player’s record, which is unbearable for the white-and-blue entity.
Espanyol also cannot assume a mandatory purchase clause at the end of the season and negotiates that it is optional and, in addition, with a “realistic” figure that the club can pay in the summer. Espanyol had already asked for his situation a few months ago, but he backed down when he saw that Krasnodar were asking for between 8 and 10 million. Even then clubs like Sevilla had studied his signing.
Versatility in attack and defense
Now his situation has changed completely. Despite playing a leading role in his current team, Vilhena, 27, wants to leave and Espanyol want to repeat with him what he already did with Yangel Herrera in the summer. “It was not feasible recently, but now the situation has been unblocked,” admit sources from the parakeet club.
Vilhena has played 79 games for Krasnodar, scoring nine goals and eight assists. Where he signed his best records, however, was in the Eredivisie, where he scored 41 goals and gave 29 assists in the 258 games he played with Feyenoord. It remains to be seen what his role will be at Espanyol, as despite playing in his home country as a winger or midfielder, this year he has played most of his matches in Russia as a left winger.
