Steven Gerrard looks set to have a new-look side ready for Aston Villa's curtain-raiser after being very active early on in the transfer window.
But fans are excited at the prospect of even more transfer business ahead of their first game against Bournemouth as the Villa boss splashes the cash of the club's wealthy owners. Boubacar Kamara signed on a free transfer from Marseille just after the end of last season and has since been joined by Sevilla centre-back Diego Carlos, while Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen have made their loan moves permanent.
Trezeguet has followed Matt Targett and Lovre Kalinic out of the door after completing his move to Trabzonspor but there continues to be reports surrounding Douglas Luiz’s future. Mirror Sport takes a look at the latest Villa transfer news and rumours.
Rangers target boost
Joe Aribo has reportedly rejected a new contract offer from Rangers amid speculation that he could follow Gerrard to Aston Villa. London-born midfielder Aribo has been heavily linked with a transfer to Villa Park since Gerrard succeeded Dean Smith in November.
The 25-year-old has become a key figure at Ibrox and managed nine goals across all competitions last season. Rangers want to tie the Nigeria international down to a new contract, with his current deal due to expire in 12 months. But Aribo and his representatives haven’t been able to reach an agreement with Rangers yet, and talkSPORT claim he has no plans to extend his deal.
This is likely to give Rangers a major headache and could prompt them to cash in on the £10million-rated ace now rather than risk losing him for nothing. Crystal Palace, Southampton and Nottingham Forest have also all been linked with the player Gerrard bought for £300,000 in 2019 from Charlton.
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Otavio deadline looming
Villa have been linked with a move for Porto playmaker Otavio this summer but his release clause is set to increase next Friday. Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness ) claim that Villa have had a reported bid of £25m plus £4.2m in add-ons rejected and that the Primeira Liga champions want the full £34m paid upfront.
The title also claims the 27-year-old's release clause will rise to £51m on July 15th so Villa sporting director Johan Lange may need to act quickly or risk a £17m price rise. FBref reckon Otavio sits amongst the top 1% across Europe for pressures per game (28.99) and tackles (3.03), the top 2% for blocks (2.27), the top 5% for shot-creating actions (5.17) and the top 8% for progressive passes (5.42).
Luiz gets Milan warning
Douglas Luiz has one year left on his contract and could raise significant funds to reinvest if he is sold. Serie A champions AC Milan have been strongly linked with Luiz throughout the summer. According to Calciomercato, Milan like Luiz, but they are looking for players with ‘more quality’ to add to their squad. Luiz,24, who is rated around £25million, has returned to training with Villa this week where he linked up with compatriot and new signing Diego Carlos, who is his pal.
