​Aston Villa find themselves back in the market for a left-back, and one of the names sitting near the top of Unai Emery’s shortlist carries a distinctly familiar ring.Per Fabrizio Romano, Pervis Estupiñán features prominently among a three-man shortlist Villa are seriously assessing this summer. Talks are ongoing. Crucially, the Ecuador international worked directly under Emery at Villarreal between 2020 and 2022. That gives this particular link genuine substance. It is not mere agent noise.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTransfer insider Matteo Moretto, speaking on Romano’s YouTube channel, confirmed that Villa had already made contact with AC Milan to understand the valuation and fitness picture before launching any formal bid. Milan paid Brighton around €17 million for Estupiñán last July. They reportedly want around €14 million to sanction his departure this summer, with his contract running until June 2030.The timing of this pursuit tells its own story. Lucas Digne, 32-years-old, appears to be heading to Paris Saint-Germain. Romano confirmed PSG held initial talks and Digne has since accepted a backup role behind Nuno Mendes, with the French side willing to trigger his sub-€10m release clause. That departure strips Villa of experience at the position. Emery’s team has a very obvious gap to fill.Estupiñán’s Serie A season at Milan ended up being exactly what his critics feared. 19 Serie A appearances. Just 1,035 minutes played. One goal, which happened to be a rather famous derby winner against Inter in March. One assist, five yellow cards, and a red card. An average FotMob rating of 6.79 across those outings tells you everything about his inconsistency. He lost his starting spot quickly to teenager Davide Bartesaghi and never clawed it back.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSo the question isn’t whether Milan will sell. They absolutely will. The real question is whether Emery should buy.KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JUNE 20: Pervis Estupinan #7 of Ecuador during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match between Ecuador and Curacao at Kansas City Stadium on June 20, 2026 in Kansas City, United States. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)Estupiñán, at his peak, specifically his 2022–23 and 2023–24 Brighton seasons, was a genuinely elite full-back in the Premier League. Back then, he completed 1.54 successful crosses per game, maintained a 59.4 per cent dribble success rate, made 5.51 recoveries per match, and registered 2.43 tackles per 90 minutes. Those numbers made him one of the top attacking left-backs in England. He arrived at the Amex at around £15m and left for close to €20m. Brighton got their business right.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhat followed at Milan, though, tells a sobering second story. Estupiñán didn’t just underperform. He faded to the point of near-irrelevance in a squad that itself had a turbulent campaign. Serie A chewed him up. The Bartesaghi situation stings most.