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Aston Villa eye Burton midfielder Irvine – report

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Aston Villa are one of five Championship clubs said to be keen on signing Burton midfielder Jackson Irvine, according to Australian outlet The World Game.

The report claim Steve Bruce’s side are looking to combine the 24-year-old with Australian national teammate Mile Jedinak, who moved to Villa Park last summer from Premier League side Crystal Palace.

It is believed that Villa are joined by Derby, Wolves, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday in tracking goalscoring midfielder Irvine, after starring for Nigel Clough’s Burton in their fight against Championship relegation.

Burton’s number 36 scored 10 goals from midfield this season during his 44 league and cup encounters for the Brewers, and could now be ready to make the leap to a bigger second-tier side.

The nine-time Australia international proved that money is not everything for him when he reportedly turned down a £93,000-a-week deal from the Chinese Super League in January.

Former Celtic midfielder Irvine moved to Burton last summer from Scottish Premiership side Ross County, firing Burton to 20th place in the Championship and just one point above the bottom three.

It remains to be seen how much Burton would charge for Irvine’s services, with two years still remaining on his current deal at the Pirelli Stadium.

However, Irvine may be put off moving to Villa, with Bruce’s side boasting an abundance of central-midfield stars.

Henri Lansbury, Conor Hourihane, Gary Gardner, Birkir Bjarnason and Jedinak are all vying for a place in the middle of the park, and Irvine may feel his chances of first-team football would be affected.

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