Former Aston Villa and Newcastle United stars 'transfer listed' by ex-Brighton boss

Former Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout could be on the move after he was reportedly made available for transfer.

According to French paper RMC Sport, Veretout along with former Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba have been 'frozen' out by Roberto De Zerbi at Marseille. Former Brighton boss De Zerbi has taken over at the French club after leaving the Premier League and wants to raise funds by selling some of the players at the club when he arrived.

Veretout has been at Marseille for the last two years after joining from Roma for a fee in the region of €11 million. He has been a first-team regular since his arrival at the Stade Velodrome, having accumulated 94 appearances. Despite varying between a central and defensive midfielder, Veretout has played a part in 20 goals, scoring 10 and supplying 10.

The 31-year-old is under contract at Marseille for another season, and it will be interesting to see whether he can force his way in to De Zerbi's plans or if he will have to be moved on. In all competitions last season he played in 46 games, and so if he remains he might have to accept less of a role.

Veretout's teammate Chancel Mbemba is another player that is apparently up for sale. The 29-year-old joined Marseille at the same time as Veretout, joining on a free transfer from Porto. Mbemba was a player for three seasons at Newcastle United, and helped them win the EFL Championship title in 2017, before being sold to Porto for a reported £7.1m.

The 85-cap DR Congo international has also played a lot of football for Marseille, having appeared 85 times. He has a good goal scoring record for a defender having scored 13 times, and last term he played 40 times, including six occasions where he captained the side.

Marseille have already brought in Ismaël Koné and Lilian Brassier, whilst talks are at an advanced stage to sign Mason Greenwood, and they are also in the market for former Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez. Wolves star Hwang Hee-chan is also of interest, with reports claiming that personal terms had been agreed, but Villa's Midlands rivals have issued a 'hands off' warning and do not envisage selling him this summer.