Juventus ace to ‘turn down’ Aston Villa in favour of Tottenham Hotspur transfer

Aston Villa have been heavily linked with Rodrigo Bentancur in recent weeks and reportedly saw a £20.5 million bid turned down by Juventus in the past few days.

The Serie A club will have to pay a large chunk of the fee to Bentancur’s former club, Boca Juniors, and are hopeful for a larger sum.

Tottenham Hotspur have also shown interest in the midfielder and with a bid already made, Sky Italia (cited by Inside Futbol) have claimed that Bentancur is set to turn down Villa in favour of a move to London.

Discussions are in process between Juve and Spurs, with the Premier League side set to pay a €19m transfer fee plus add-ons.

The failed move for Bentancur could prove to be a huge loss for Aston Villa, with both Spurs and Arsenal eyeing moves for Douglas Luiz before the transfer deadline.

The Daily Mail have reported that Antonio Conte’s side are preparing a £32 million bid for the Villa star - a double blow for Steven Gerrard if they are to miss out on Bentancur too.

The West Midlands club could be left disappointed on deadline day, despite a hugely successful transfer window for the rest of the month.

Gerrard has brought in Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne, Robin Olsen and Calum Chambers so far - with his squad currently looking in good shape for the remainder of the season.

Villa are also still targeting Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder, Yves Bissouma, who is thought to be valued at around £50 million by the Seagulls.