Monchi has admitted his disappointment at not being able to land Marco Asensio back at Aston Villa - and his surprise that the player now ended up in Turkey

Asensio was a popular loan signing for Villa in the second half of last season when he joined from Paris Saint-Germain, making 21 appearances and scoring eight times. He showed his star potential in performances such as a comeback win over Chelsea, when he scored twice, and he seemed to relish life under Unai Emery.

Villa wanted him back, either on a permanent deal or another loan, and were confident they could pull it off - but, instead, the 29-year-old former Real Madrid forward ended up signing for Fenerbahce.

He agreed a three-year deal in Istanbul for a transfer fee that was said to be around £7.5 million.

Monchi, in an interview with ElDesmarque, was asked if he was surprised how that panned out and said: "Yes, yes, because I thought he was going to end up at...