Villarreal close in on Ligue 1 striker as final summer signing

Originally posted on Football Espana | By Feargal Brennan | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 1:50 PM ET

Villarreal boss Marcelino is closing in on one final transfer move before the La Liga transfer deadline on September 1.

The Yellow Submarine are short on options in attack following on from the Premier League exits of Thierno Barry and Yeremy Pino to Everton and Crystal Palace respectively.

Alex Baena has also moved on to Atletico Madrid – and Marcelino has reinforced his options ahead of a return to the UEFA Champions League – but Etta Eyong is expected to stay despite reports linking him with a move to join Barry at Everton.

Marcelino has already spent €71m on new faces – with moves to bring in Tajon Buchanan and Tani Oluwaseyi – with the latter set for a first attempt at making mark on European football.

As per reports from French transfer expert Sebastien Denis, the La Liga side are closing in on a move for Lyon striker Georges Mikautadze as part of a €30m transfer package.

Villarreal close in on Lyon and Georgia star Georges Mikautadze to solve their striker woes #LaLiga #Villarreal https://t.co/llIfCfjhDH

— Football España (@footballespana_) August 30, 2025

Georgia international Mikautadze has been in talks with Villarreal since last week and he is due in Spain for a medical in the next 24 hours as the deal is finalised before the transfer window closes at the start of September.

Marcelino is confident the 24-year-old will add vital goals to his rearranged attack on the back of scoring 17 goals in all competitions last season in France and 14 in the previous campaign on loan from Ajax at Metz.

Villarreal have enjoyed a superb start to the 2025/26 La Liga season, with two wins from two outings up against Real Oviedo and Girona, and no goals conceded.

The club have also seen their Champions League fixture schedule confirmed for the league phase of the competition up until January 2026.

Their UCL campaign starts away at Tottenham on September 18 before a first home game in Europe’s top tier since 2022 against Serie A giants Juventus on October 1.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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