1 Carles Gil in action for Aston Villa

Real Sociedad and Villarreal have entered the race to sign Aston Villa outcast Carles Gil.

Former Villans boss Paul Lambert paid Valencia £3.25m for Gil in January and the Spaniard quickly became a fans favourite with the Holte End faithful. However, the arrival of Tim Sherwood has seen the 22-year-old’s pportunities limited.

Gil has already been offered an escape route out of Villa Park with Celta Vigo submitting a £3m bid – and talkSPORT understands Real Sociedad boss David Moyes has registered his interest in taking the starlet back to La Liga.

But the Basque outfit face competition from Villarreal, who are looking to replace Atletico Madrid target Luicano Vietto.