Following their impressive fourth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, Aston Villa are hoping to prepare for Champions League football by bringing a new striker to the club to support Ollie Watkins.
Villans need to replace departing stars this summer
As if assembling a squad ready for Europe's premier competition was not already enough of a challenge, Unai Emery will now have to use the summer window to find replacements for some of his star players.
Aston Villa in contact to sign teenager compared to Frank Lampard
Villa have made an approach.
ByCharlie SmithJun 22, 2024
The most pressing matter will be in the middle of the park with Douglas Luiz's move to Juventus all but confirmed. To make matters worse, the Villans will also be losing promising midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, who has agreed a £10million move to Everton.
In terms of incomings, Villa have enquired about a deal to sign Brais Mendez from Real Sociedad. The 27-year-old reportedly has a £52m release clause but would be an excellent addition to Emery's squad. In addition to this, Villa are trying to work out a deal to sign Sporting star Pedro Goncalves, who may be tempted to the Midlands by the promise of Champions League football.
It is also expected that the club will have to find reinforcements in attack with current back up striker Jhon Duran heavily linked with a move to Chelsea this summer. The Colombian's move seems to have stalled a little since being granted permission to speak to the Blues, but the move is still very possible.
Villa lead race to sign Roma's Abraham
As first reported by Sport Witness, the Italian press are claiming that Villa are in pole position to sign Roma's Tammy Abraham this summer. The outlet states that the Villans view Roma's asking price of around £25million as reasonable and are eager to get a deal done during the window.
The 26-year-old will be a familiar name to many Villa fans with Abraham spending the 2018/19 season on loan at Villa Park. The Englishman found the back of the net on 26 occassions, most important of which was a strike during the Villans' play off semi final victory over West Brom.
It was Abraham's time with the Villans that saw him earn acclaim from across the footballing world. Speaking back in 2019, then boss Dean Smith waxed lyrical about his striker telling the press: "There's an awful lot of speculation out there. Obviously clubs in the Premier League are looking at players who are scoring goals in the Championship.
"But Tammy's currency is goals and I can only say what I've already said to him that, unless they're a team in the top six, there's not many Premier League sides creating loads of chances."
Following his time with Villa, Abraham has gone on to have spells with both Chelsea and Roma as well as earn 11 caps for the England national team. The striker has even managed to score four times in the Champions League during his career, making him the perfect man to lead Villa's line when they play in the competition next season and replace the outgoing Duran.
