Aston Villa receive ‘approach’ after Unai Emery makes transfer admission

Aston Villa could yet offload a key star ahead of the summer transfer deadline, with Unai Emery making an admission over the weekend.

Emery’s men have enjoyed a fine start to the season, winning two of their first three, including a comfortable away win over Burnley in their most recent outing. The Lions are already showing real signs of being able to challenge for the top six, or perhaps even the top four, although it is still early in the campaign.

The next challenge for Villa will be navigating the summer transfer deadline, which is on Friday afternoon.

Villa have been bold in the transfer window so far, spending a significant amount to land the likesof Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby, but there could still be business to be done. That applies for incomings and outgoings, with Philippe Coutinho being heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.

Issuing an update on the possible deal, Fabrizio Romano has tweeted: “Al Duhail have approached Aston Villa for Philippe Coutinho but there’s still no formal bid on the table #AVFC Discussions advanced on player side, not yet on club side. Talks will follow in the next days to understand if Coutinho will join the Qatari side.”

The update comes after Villa boss Emery made it clear there could still be outgoings at Villa Park before the deadline. He said: “There are still four days to finish the transfer window and we have to be ready.

“We have to be ready in case someone is leaving, in case we have a good opportunity to add another player with us. Always in my teams I was working and I am ready at the end if someone can come with us or someone can leave.”