Aston Villa ‘hopeful’ of signing Bundesliga star for bargain transfer fee

Aston Villa are settling under their new manager with Unai Emery winning their first match under the new leadership 3-1 last weekend against Manchester United. Currently sitting 13th in the league, Villa have endured a turbulent start to their season under previous manager Steven Gerrard losing to the likes of Crystal Palace and West Ham. However, now with Unai Emery now at the wheel it would appear the tables are now turning at Villa Park.

They will face United once again later on this evening (Thursday 10 November) in the third round of the EFL Cup before travelling down to Brighton for their Premier League fixture this weekend - their last before the FIFA World Cup.

As Villa and Emery prepare for what is sure to be a busy transfer window this January, here is all the latest news from Villa Park…

Villa hope for Bundesliga star at ‘fraction’ of price

It was recently reported by Milan.Live (via Sportwitness) that “attention should be paid” to Aston Villa when it comes to the potential signing of the Borussia Monchengladbach star Marcus Thuram. The French 25-year-old has had an impressive start to the campaign, scoring 12 goals and managing four assists in just 16 games.

The German news outlet Bild has said the French international ‘advertises himself in almost every game’ for Gladbach and his ‘very likely departure’ could become ‘more expensive’ for his employer.

Born in Italy, Thuram, whose father is former French international Lilian Thuram, has played as a forward and left winger, starting his career at Sochaux before moving on to Guingamp in 2017 and Gladbach in 2019. The 25-year-old has also played both youth and senior level with France, earning himself four caps for his country since 2020.

The Villa target has seen his value already increase from €20m - €30m and with his contract up at the end of the season, the German side will be keen to sell him in the upcoming January transfer window. It is reported as well that if Gladbach do find a buyer for their striker it will “only be a fraction of the actual market value” of €30m as compensation.

Villa given green light to attract A-list forward

Sources have spoken to Football Insider reporting that Aston Villa are setting their sights on signing an A-list striker come the January transfer window. According to Football Insider, Unai Emery has given his recruiting staff the green light to find a versatile player who could potentially play anywhere across the front line.

It is not yet clear who Emery’s top targets will be however it is thought the Spanish manager wants an upgrade on the likes of Emiliano Buendia, and Philippe Coutinho while their current striking options, Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins, have scored just four and two goals respectively across all competitions.

Coutinho was brought in off the back of an impressive six-month loan spell but has since struggled to recreate the form in the new campaign. According to the sources, the club are planning to also shortlist a centre-back with Pau Torres - who worked with Emery at Villarreal - a top target.