Aston Villa move ‘increasingly concrete’ for midfielder, Premier League rivals eye up Emery’s key player

After celebrating their seventh-place finish in the Premier League, Aston Villa now turn their attention to the transfer window. Unai Emery is looking to bolster his squad ready to compete in Europe next season and there have been plenty of links between the Villans and some potential new recruits.

However, thanks to impressive performances from several key players, Villa are also attracting a lot of attention as clubs peruse the market for their own new signings. Here’s a look at some of the latest updates on Aston Villa this summer.

Man United eyeing up key Villa man

Manchester United are looking to bolster their attacking options this summer and a recent revelation could see them shift attention to Villa’s Ollie Watkins. According to The Athletic, the Reds had been looking to sign Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta but his quoted £86 million price tag is more than what they were willing to pay.

Now, United are looking elsewhere and have been keeping an eye on Watkins after his impressive time at Villa Park so far. Since joining the club from Brentford in 2020, the Englishman has hit double goalscoring figures in every season so far, including his 16 goals and six assists this term.

United are looking to bring in a replacement for Wout Weghorst and the report claims that Watkins already being confident in the Premier League could be a desirable candidate for Erik ten Hag.

Villa move ‘increasingly concrete’ for Brazilian midfielder

As Emery looks to add to his engine room, links between Villa and Arthur Melo have strengthened and reports claim a move is becoming ‘increasingly concrete’, according to Sport Italia. However, a permanent move away from Juventus seems unlikely but another loan spell could be on the cards, after he spent the last season with Liverpool.

Unfortunately for Arthur, injury impacted the majority of his time with the Reds but he is said to be keen to give Premier League football another shot.