£8m Aston Villa star set for free transfer to German club amid Man United links

Former Aston Villa midfielder Anwar El Ghazi is closing in on a move to a new club, after his links with Manchester United earlier this summer.

It was reported earlier this month by various outlets in England that Manchester United had been considering a surprise move for El Ghazi who is a free agent.

The 28-year-old had his contract terminated at Dutch club PSV and given the status of Anthony and Jadon Sancho, the Red Devils had been linked with a surprise swoop for the two-time Netherlands international.

A move to Old Trafford failed to materialise however with The Athletic's Man United correspondent Laurie Whitwell claimed they had not been interested after the proposal by El Ghazi's representatives.

El Ghazi will however remain in elite level football, with his next move now revealed to German outfit Mainz. Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg revealed that El Ghazi is 'close to joining' Mainz as a free agent.

Mainz are currently rock bottom of the German first tier and have picked up just one point from a possible 12 in their opening four matches. They currently have Liverpool centre-back Sepp van den Berg on loan there whilst Edmilison Fernandes who played for West Ham United is also on their books.

El Ghazi left Villa in the summer of 2022 after being sold for a reported £3.5m to Dutch side PSV. He admitted he didn't want to leave Villa Park, but had to leave after falling out of favour under Steven Gerrard.

“It was really important for me and I made a decision on the back of how much the club really wanted me,” said the attacker in an interview with The Athletic last year.

“On the other side, I didn’t want to leave. I really wanted to stick with Villa.

“But I had one year left only, a manager who really didn’t want me there and had I stayed there…well, it was just so difficult.”