Aston Villa await 'decision' from free agent target amid Wolves striker interest

Aston Villa have Champions League football to look forward to next season. They recently finished 4th in the Premier League table behind Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. 

As for Wolves, they are gearing up for another year in the top flight under the guidance of Gary O’Neil. Here is a look at some of the latest transfer news and rumours regarding the Midlands duo….

Aston Villa target to make decision

As per Alfredo Pedulla, Aston Villa target Mario Hermoso will make a ‘final decision’ on his future soon. The Atletico Madrid defender, who is also on the radar of Juventus and Napoli in Serie A right now, sees his contract in Spain expire at the end of the month and is due to become a free agent in a matter of weeks.

Hermoso rose up through the academy ranks at Real Madrid after joining the La Liga giants as a youngster from local side Concepción. He then represented them at various different youth levels but never made a senior appearance.

Espanyol snapped him up on a permanent basis in 2017 after he had a loan spell at Real Vallodolid to get some experience under his belt. He then spent two years with the Barcelona-based club before heading out the exit door.

Atletico Madrid won the race for his signature five years ago and he has since made 174 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side in all competitions, 45 of which came in this past season, and has scored 10 goals from defence.

He won the title back in 2021 but it remains to be seen whether he will be staying put at Estadio Metropolitano.

Aston Villa could see Hermoso as someone to boost their defensive department and the fact they wouldn’t have to pay a transfer fee for him makes this one a no-brainer if he does become available.

Wolves links cooled

Wolves have not made a bid for Salernitana striker Boulaye Dia, according to TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook on X. O’Neil’s side have been heavily linked with the Senegal international over the past 24 hours or so.

Dia, 27, moved to Italy in 2022 and has since fired 20 goals in 51 games. His current club have been relegated to Serie B and it is yet to be known whether the ex-Stade de Reims and Villarreal man will stay with them in the second tier.

Wolves man wanted

Wolves attacker Fabio Silva has emerged on the radar of Sevilla, according to Estadio Deportivo. He spent the second-half of the past campaign on loan at Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and is now due to return to the Midlands.

The 21-year-old was given the green light to move to Ibrox on a temporary basis in January and went on to score six goals in 25 outings for Philippe Clement’s side as they finished 2nd in the table behind rivals Celtic.

He moved to England back in 2020 from Porto but has struggled to make an impact. As well as Rangers, he has also had stints away at Anderlecht and PSV.