Aston Villa have been busy recruiting Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and the permanent signings of Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen after successful loans.
But a feature of Villa's regime under Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens has also been the club's willingness to invest substantial sums in raw prospects for future success. Today, as Mirror Football looks at the latest Villa transfer news and rumours, there is talk of a move for a Premier League youngster who could be another for the future.
While Gerrard will no doubt still be focused on acquiring a new left-sided defender after Matt Targett's sale and potentially another midfielder or striker to add to his attacking arsenal of Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Villa tipped with move for West Ham starlet
Villa have reportedly 'opened talks' with West Ham's promising young forward Sonny Perkins.
Perkins, 18, joined the East London side in 2019 from Leyton Orient's under-15 side and has since gone on to make three appearances for the first team across both the Premier League and Europa League this season. Perkins is a regular for the Hammers U23 side and was named as the PL2 player of the month for April.
As well as buying proven stars like Philippe Coutinho, Villa have focused heavily on the recruitment within their academy sides which as seen the likes of Tim Iroegbunam, Caleb Chukwuemeka, Ben Chrisene, Kerr Smith all arrive in recent years as well as deals currently being worked on for Rangers forward Rory Wilson and Hearts midfielder Ewan Simpson.
Price tag quoted for John McGinn
Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor claims Tottenham cannot afford vice-captain John McGinn after claiming the midfielder is worth up to £70million.
McGinn, 27, has emerged as a target for Antonio Conte's Tottenham as the Italian looks to recruit heavily this summer ahead of a busy campaign next season which will include Champions League football. According to The Telegraph, Conte wants to two midfielders within the transfer window with the targets including Villa's McGinn, Southampton's James Ward-Prowse and former Spurs man Christian Eriksen.
Speaking to Football Insider, when asked about whether or not Conte's side could make a move for McGinn, former Villan striker Agbonlahor claimed that Tottenham could be priced out of a more for the Scotland international.
Former Villa target potentially available
Villa wanted to sign Said Benrahma previously when Dean Smith was in charge and now the forward could be available again according to reports claiming West Ham will 'consider' offers as David Moyes looks to fund a move for former loanee Jesse Lingard.
Villa were keen on the Algerian winger in 2020 from Brentford while his former manager Smith was in charge at Villa Park before the player secured a move to East London on an initial loan deal which was made permanent the following January for around £20 million. Benrahma has made 62 appearances in the top flight of English football for the Hammers since arriving, scoring nine goals and recording 12 assists in the process.
But Moyes could look to move Benrahma on this summer in order to step-up his efforts to secure the signing of former loanee Lingard, according to The Guardian.
