Aston Villa dealt transfer blow as rivals emerge for ex-Liverpool star

Aston Villa are back in form as they look to guarantee their survival in the Premier League.

Steven Gerrard’s men had been on a disappointing run, but they have now won back-to-back games after a brilliant performance against Southampton last weekend.

Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz, Philippe Coutinho and Danny Ings were all on target as Villa took their points total to 33.

Villa are now just a handful of points away from safety, and they can already tentatively start to plan for next season.

As they line up potential targets, here are the latest rumours surrounding Villa Park:

Suarez rivals

Aston Villa have been regularly linked with Atletico Madrid veteran Luis Suarez since the arrival of Steven Gerrard.

It’s not yet clear if Suarez will stay or go this summer, but if he does depart the Wanda Metropolitano, it seems he won’t be short of suitors, with Villa facing a number of rivals.

According to Marca via Football365, Inter, Sevilla and Ajax are all interested in his signature ahead of this summer.

Kessie offer

There was talk last week of potential Villa interest in AC Milan star Franck Kessie, and according to the most recent reports, they have indeed made an offer.

Kessie is out of contract this summer, and he is attracting plenty of interest around Europe.

According to Il Milanista, Villa have made the best offer for the midfielder, as things stand, though interest from the likes of Barcelona remains - that could prove to be a real problem.