Aston Villa 'hijack on' for Newcastle summer target as European rivals battle for £26m Serie A star
An update has emerged surrounding an Aston Villa transfer hijack ahead of next summer
Aston Villa have been one of the surprise packages of this Premier League season and still retain faint title hopes despite seeing leaders Arsenal take a nine-point advantage over Unai Emery’s side in recent weeks.
It is easy to forget that this all came after the Villans endured a challenging summer transfer window, where they were unable to secure top targets and saw key men such as Emiliano Martinez linked with moves away. Though the focus firmly remains on the rest of the season across the league, the Europa League and the FA Cup, the West Midlands outfit would be smart to begin summer planning early so to ensure the best possible chance of a successful summer window this time around. This may include resolving the future of Harvey Elliott.
An update has emerged surrounding an early transfer target for the Villa Park club ahead of this summer, with a hijack touted at the expense of one of their Premier League rivals.
Aston Villa twist touted for £26m Newcastle target Carlos Augusto
According to reports by TEAMtalk relaying information from L’Interista in Italy, Aston Villa are planning to hijack Newcastle United’s move for Inter Milan left-back Carlos Augusto, despite the Serie A club claiming the 27-year-old is ‘unsellable’.
Both clubs are said to be interested in signing the Brazil international in the summer, with Newcastle’s interest thought to be long-standing. But Villa are now expected to ‘jump in’ and beat their European rivals to his signature, amidst recent criticism of Lucas Digne which may have contributed to the reported belief that left-back is viewed internally as a position to strengthen.
The reports from Milan state that ‘the Premier League is calling him [Augusto]’, though he will not come cheap - as Inter are reportedly set to demand €30m (£26m) for his services, with a contract which runs until 2028. Villa are thought to hope that the financial rewards of the Premier League will be enough to convince Augusto to depart Inter, particularly if Emery’s men reach their goal of Champions League football this term.
Roadblock lies in the way of move for ‘unsellable’ star
The path to signing Augusto this summer may not be entirely clear, though, with Inter and head coach Cristian Chivu thought to value Augusto highly and be highly opposed to selling the versatile left-sided defender. Chivu is said to ‘worship’ the Brazilian, while reports go as far as to say that Inter view the player as ‘unsellable’.
L’Interista have also not ruled out Augusto signing a contract extension, which would effectively put to bed any rumours of a move to England. Talks could, in fact, be sped up by the fact that interest from Villa and Newcastle has emerged.
The pull of the Premier League should not be underestimated, though, and Augusto has found starts less frequent than he would like in Serie A this season. The 27-year-old has made 28 appearances in all competitions this season, registering two goals and two assists, but only ten of those appearances have been league starts amidst competition from the likes of Federico Dimarco.