Aston Villa face West Ham transfer battle as Arsenal eye midfielder

Aston Villa and West Ham United are set to battle it out for Icelandic striker Albert Gudmundsson.

That’s according to Italian outlet calciomeracto, whom state the forward, who plays for Genoa in Serie A, has ‘exploded’ in the last two years and now ‘everyone’ is taking notice.

Gudmundsson, 26, has scored seven goals in 14 appearances so far this season, building on the 14 he notched in 38 in 2022/23.

His good form resulted in Genoa rewarding him with a new contract on Friday morning, one that runs through 2027.

But despite the new deal, the Italian outlet report that both Villa and the Hammers would have ‘no problem’ paying the asking price that Genoa stump up, even with their reluctance to sell.

 Gunners ‘hell bent’ on Luiz

Whilst there will be plenty of rumours surrounding incomings for Villa this January, one man that is garnering huge amounts of interest from inside Villa Park is Douglas Luiz.

Luiz has been in inspired form for the Villans in 2023/24 and that has, unsurprisingly, resulted in some of the world’s biggest clubs eyeing a move for the Brazilian.

However, according to Football Insider, there is one club ‘hell bent’ on the signature of the 25-year-old – Villa’s Premier League rivals, Arsenal.

They state that the Gunners chiefs are ready to give Mikel Arteta whatever it takes to land the midfielder, with the club ready to ‘push hard’ to ensure a deal can be done.

Luiz has five goals and one assist in 12 Premier League appearances in this campaign and with over two years remaining on his contract, it would take a monstrous offer to prize him away from Villa Park.