Aston Villa transfer latest as bid rejected for Juventus midfielder and club rival Newcastle for Attila Szalai

Aston Villa have had a busy January transfer window with four new signings under Steven Gerrard.

The club have added Calum Chambers and Lucas Digne on permanent deals, while Phillipe Coutinho and Robin Olsen have joined on loan until the end of the season.

The quartet all have experience of playing in the Premier League, something that will give Villa fans confidence in the team’s business this month.

However, the potential for more signings is still upon us, with reports suggesting the Midlands outfit have had a £20.5m bid rejected by Juventus for midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

According to Sky in Italy, via Sky Sports’ live blog, an initial offer of £16.5m, plus £4m in add-ons has been turned down by the Serie A club.

They add that Juventus want £21m up front for the Uruguayan before considering any offer from Gerrard’s side.

Sky also claim that the Italian giants are ‘holding out’ for a higher fee due to Bentancur’s former club Boca Juniors having a 30% sell-on clause in his current contract.

Elsewhere, Villa face competition from West Ham and Newcastle United for Attila Szalai, with the latter submitting a €20m (£17m) bid for the centre-back, according to reports.

As per Fanatik, the Toon have moved first in the race for the Hungarian, but the site expects Fenerbahce to reject their opening bid.

However, they add that the Turkish club are willing to allow Szalai to leave during the winter window if an increased bid is made.

The 24-year-old has 23 caps to his name for the Hungarian national team, but is yet to score.

If reports are to be believed, then Gerrard will have to work with the Villa board to sign the duo before Monday evening’s deadline.

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