Aston Villa plot ‘enormous’ bid to beat West Ham to PL talisman

Aston Villa suffered a second consecutive Premier League defeat in Saturday afternoon, slumping to a 1-0 loss against Champions League qualification hopefuls Arsenal at Villa Park.

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game, and the Gunners could deal the Villans another blow in the summer transfer window, if recent reports are to be believed.

We’ve gathered all of the latest Villa-related transfer speculation below...

Gunners eye Coutinho

Arsenal are ready to make a summer move to derail Aston Villa’s permanent capture of Philippe Coutinho, currently on loan at Aston Villa, according to Sport.

The Barcelona loanee has impressed during the early stages of his temporary stint ay Villa Park, registering four goals and three assists in his first 10 Premier League outings.

And that form has been enough to alert Arsenal to his potential availability.

Villa will have to pay around £33.5 million to make Coutinho’s loan move permanent in the summer, but the Gunners could look to hijack any deal with a bid of their own.

Villa leading Phillips race

Villa have emerged as ‘front runners’ to sign Leeds United talisman Kalvin Phillips this summer, according to a report from The Times.

Steven Gerrard made no secret of his desire to bolster his midfield options in January, with the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma both linked.

And Villa reportedly remain eager to strengthen in the middle of the park, with Phillips now top of their summer wishlist.

The Villans are ‘ready to pay £60 million’ for the 26-year-old, and are prepared to offer an ‘enormous salary’ to beat the likes of West Ham and Newcastle United to his signature.

Brighton target Ings

Brighton have set their sights on signing Danny Ings from Aston Villa this summer, according to a report from Football Insider.

Albion are understood to be in the market for a new striker, and are keen to recruit a player with Premier League experience and proven top flight pedigree.

Ings fits the bill in both regards, and this latest update suggests that he could be sold to fund new signings in other areas of the pitch for Gerrard’s side.