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Aston Villa recruit Spanish based scouts Alberto Benito and Pablo Rodriguez

Villa have bolstered their scouting network ahead of the summer transfer window with the appointment of two Spanish-based talent spotters.

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The club yesterday confirmed the arrival of Alberto Benito from Real Betis, while Pablo Rodriguez will also join from Villarreal at the end of the season.

Benito, chief scout at Betis, previously worked with Villa head coach Unai Emery at Paris St Germain and Arsenal and will now work alongside head of recruitment Rob Mackenzie in what the club describe as a “global technical role”.

Rodriguez was senior scout at Valencia before taking the same role at Villarreal, where he also worked on Emery’s coach staff.

Villa are expected to target the Spanish market in the first summer window since Emery’s appointment. The club were poised to appoint Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany in a senior recruitment role before he last week decided to remain with the Catalan giants.

Benito and Rodriguez’s appointments were jointly announced by V Sports, the club’s holding company controlled by Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens which also owns Portuguese First Division outfit Vitoria and Egyptian club ZED FC. The statement confirmed the pair had joined the club’s “global recruitment network”.