Aston Villa 'could be tempted' to launch bid for £40m Leeds United star as Tottenham benchmark set

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Aston Villa are one of several Premier League teams thought to be interested in the Championship star.

Aston Villa are one of four Premier League teams who ‘could be tempted’ to launch a bid for Crysencio Summerville - although current club Leeds United will hold firm on their £40million valuation.

Summerville has emerged as one of this summer’s hottest prospects after an outstanding debut campaign of regular first-team football at Leeds. The Dutch winger registered 21 goals and 10 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions, enough to earn him the Championship’s Player of the Season award.

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Leeds’ failure to achieve promotion has left them somewhat vulnerable to player exits, however, and Summerville has long been touted as the most likely to leave, given widespread top-flight interest. Like Villa, the West Yorkshire club have been working to remain compliant with profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) but the £40m sale of academy prospect Archie Gray to Tottenham has eased the pressure and they are now in a better financial position.

Football Insider now reports that with Villa thought to be weighing up a potential move, Leeds will now demand that the £40m Gray fee is matched if anyone is to sign Summerville. Along with Unai Emery’s side, the report names Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Brighton and French outfit Paris Saint-Germain as potential suitors.

Unlike with Gray, Summerville’s contract does not contain a release clause and with more room to manoeuvre after the June 30 PSR deadline, they are ready to hold firm and have no intention to sell anyone unless it’s on their own terms. The development comes as a blow to the likes of Villa, who might have harboured hope of a bargain following Leeds’ failure to achieve promotion.

It could still be that Summerville agitates to leave Leeds in search of top-flight football, but there is currently no sign of that. The 22-year-old’s future will be subject to speculation throughout the summer and Villa’s name will continue to resurface.

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Those in charge at Villa Park will continue to strengthen ahead of next season’s exciting Champions League return, and a number of players have already come through the door. The most notable arrival saw £37.5m spent to bring Ian Maatsen north from Chelsea, while Lewis Dobbin also arrived recently from Everton and Ross Barkley returned to the Midlands, following an impressive season at Luton Town.

Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea also arrived at Villa from Juventus, in separate deals to the £42.5m sale of Douglas Luiz the other way. That list is expected to continue growing throughout the summer and wide options are being explored, with Summerville among a number of reported targets.

The Villains have also been linked with some more high-profile options, namely Joao Felix and Federico Chiesa, the pair currently at Atletico Madrid and Juventus respectively. Emery and his bosses have less than six weeks to prepare for the 2024/25 season, which kicks off for them at West Ham United on Saturday, August 17 at 5.30pm.

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