Aston Villa to ‘rival’ Brighton and Crystal Palace for 10-goal striker

Aston Villa seemed to have made their intentions of bolstering their attack clear ahead of the January transfer window and have most recently been linked with a Ligue 1 hotshot. Unai Emery’s side are said to be considering a move for Lorient striker Terem Moffi, according to French outlet Jeunes Footeux.

The Nigerian joined Lorient two years ago and had scored 22 league goals across the previous two seasons, however he has been on fire this time round after netting 10 in only 14 matches. At just 23 years old, it comes as no surprise that Moffi is attracting interest and Aston Villa are said to be up against Brighton, Crystal Palace and Borussia Monchengladbach in their pursuit.

While a move to the Premier Leauge is likely to be very tempting for Moffi, the forward will be eager to join a new club that can offer him first team football. While they are still not in brilliant goalscoring form, Aston Villa still have both Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins up top, while both Brighton and Crystal Palace are likely to offer regular minutes for the Nigeria international given their lack of goalscoring strikers.

According to Transfermarkt, the 23-year-old is only valued at around £13m and could prove to be a real bargain if he keeps up his form, however Villa could also choose to wait till next summer to see how many more goals he can add to his tally. Moffi’s contract in France expires in 2024 and could be available for even cheaper at the end of the season.

Moffi is one of a number of forwards Aston Villa have been linked with ahead of the January transfer window, with Joao Felix the latest surprise name to be linked. The Athletic have reported that the 23-year-old’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is pushing for the player to move to Villa Park.