Steven Gerrard sets Aston Villa transfer aims amid ‘threat’ to La Liga giants over transfer

It’s matchday for Aston Villa, who will be looking to keep their top half hopes alive with a win over relegation-threatened Burnley this evening.

Steven Gerrard’s men have an uphill battle to finish inside the top 10, with Manchester City to play on the final day, but a win at Villa Park on Thursday night would keep things exciting, with no silverware at play.

Villa have come on leaps and bounds over recent months, and they put on another solid performance over the weekend, drawing away from home to Crystal Palace.

They will be looking to build on that against Burnley, but as we await kick-off, we have rounded up all the latest transfer news and rumours.

Gerrard’s aims

Gerrard has described his transfer aims for Villa ahead of what could be a busy summer for the Midlands club.

“Let’s just leave it pretty vague and say we are looking to upgrade the eleven,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think the spine of the team needs some support. You can never stop working with your players, trying to improve them. But sometimes individual errors are on the individuals.

“If things don’t change you are left with no choice. You either change them with someone else in the building or you upgrade them.”

Kamara battle

Villa are said to be putting pressure on Atletico Madrid in the race to land Boubacar Kamara.

The Marseille midfielder is set to leave Ligue 1 at the end of his contract, and there is a battle for his signature.

According to Diario AS via SportWitness, Atletico are closing in on the signing of Kamara, but Villa are ‘threatening’ in the battle.

As a high-level defensive midfielder, Kamara could fulfil Gerrard’s wish of improving Villa’s spine, but it seems the Lions are second in the race as things stand.