According to reports from The Telegraph yesterday evening, Aston Villa and Newcastle have joined the race to sign Leeds United midfielder Lewis Cook, who has been dubbed ‘the next Paul Scholes’.
The 18 year-old made his debut for the Yorkshire outfit against Bolton Wanderers at the start of the season and has since emerged as a key component in Neil Redfearn’s plans, making 37 Championship appearances whilst averaging 2.2 tackles, 2 interceptions and one created chance per match.
He’s also developing quite a reputation for England at junior level, boasting 24 caps between the U16 and U19 age groups, and last summer was involved in the Three Lions’ trophy-winning U17 European Championship campaign.
As This Is Futbol revealed last month, five of the Premier League’s top clubs – namely, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United – are all believed to hold a vested interest in Cook, with some sources claiming they’ll enter a £12million race for his signature this summer.
But according to The Telegraph, Aston Villa and Newcastle are also keen to snap up the Championship prodigy. Tim Sherwood wants to rebuild his squad with emerging British talent, whilst the Magpies also want to advance their home-grown quota – with summer deals for Nottingham Forest duo Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles already agreed.