Aston Villa poised to make major Kevin de Bruyne transfer decision amid reports of four star player exits
Aston Villa are reportedly interested in one of the world’s best midfielders
Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa are expected to prioritise a move for Manchester City icon Kevin de Bruyne instead of making a move for popular loanee Marco Asensio, according to a recent report.
Asensio arrived at Villa Park from Unai Emery’s former club Paris Saint-Germain and made an instant impact with goals against the likes of Brighton, Chelsea ,Cardiff City and both legs of the Champions League against Club Brugge.
Overall, his tally of eight goals in 17 games is higher than what he managed to achieve in 47 appearances in the French capital and made him a key catalyst in Villa’s improvement in the Premier League.
However, he was criticised for his performance during a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup and failed to make the desired impact against his parent club PSG in Europe. He’s also failed to score in his last four league games and has experienced a slight dip in form which has jeopardised his hopes of securing a permanent move to the West Midlands.
Kevin De Bruyne to Aston Villa latest
Football Insider claims that Villa chiefs believe signing De Bruyne on a free transfer would be a more worthwhile deal than signing Asensio from PSG on a permanent basis this summer.
De Bruyne has long been considered one of the best players in the Premier League and in some people’s eyes is the greatest midfielder to have graced the league since 1992 after winning six titles, a Champions League, two FA Cups and five League Cups. He’s also won the PFA Player of the Season twice and has been included in the Team of the Year on five occasions.
The 33-year-old was expected to move to either Saudi Arabia or the MLS after a trophy-laden decade at City but recently reiterated his desire to stay playing at the highest level with the 2026 World Cup with Belgium on the horizon.
De Bruyne has an overall record of 107 goals and 177 assists in a City shirt across all competitions and has 119 assists at Premier League level which is the second most in the competition’s history. Villa are expected to hold talks with De Bruyne in the near future as they continue to try and build a team that can compete with the very best in the league.
Four Aston Villa exits could be in the pipeline
Aston Villa were amongst the busiest teams in the transfer window and the sale of Jhon Duran to Saudi is only going to facilitate more changes this summer in terms of incomings and outgoings. Football Insider have claimed that Leon Bailey could be one of the names out of the door after a frustrating campaign which has seen him fall well down the pecking order.
Give Me Sport also suggests that both Chelsea and Liverpool are interested in England international Morgan Rogers after his promising season. While other reports suggest Marcus Rashford could choose a move to Paris Saint-Germain over a permanent switch to Aston Villa after tearing the French champions apart in the Champions League.
Birmingham Word also reported earlier this week that a number of Saudi Pro League teams are also keeping tabs on first choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.