Aston Villa strike €8m transfer agreement as Liverpool dealt blow

Aston Villa could be about to make their first signing of the January transfer window in the form of Yasin Ozcan from Kasimpasa.

It’s being reported by Turkish news outlet IHA Spor that an agreement has been reached between the Villains and Kasimpasa which will take the 18-year-old to Villa Park. It will reportedly cost Villa €8m to sign the teenage defender and that he will undergo a medical in the New Year.

Ozcan is a left-sided centre-back who is also capable of playing at left-back. He has made 16 appearances in all competitions for Kasimpasa this season. He's been part of a defence which has kept five clean sheets in the top-flight of Turkish football with his side currently 10th in the Turkish Super Lig.

Ozcan burst on to the scene in 2022 having made his debut when he was just 16-years-old. He's already got two-and-a-half seasons worth of senior level football under his belt. To date, he's made 76 appearances for his club, scoring five times and also supplying three assists.

He stands at just over six foot and is highly rated with the Guardian describing as one of the best players worldwide to be born in 2006. Villa have seemingly won what was a competitive race to sign the defender, as he was reportedly a target for Liverpool in the summer. It was reported by The Boot Room in August that Besiktas also wanted to sign Ozcan, but neither side made an official approach.

Despite only being 18, Ozcan made 12 appearances for the under-21s national team, and in November he was called up to the senior team. He is still yet to make his debut but was among the substitutes for Nations League games against Poland and Montenegro.

Ozcan’s proposed move to the West Midlands is just one transfer that looks likely to happen. Last week it was decided that Louie Barry would be returning from his loan spell at Stockport County with several Championship clubs chasing his signature.