Aston Villa have looked into a potential deal to sign Middlesbrough centre-forward Britt Assombalonga, according to TeamTalk.
The news outlet claims that Bristol City, Brighton and Crystal Palace are also interested in the 26-year-old, who is said to be keen on moving south.
It is understood that while Boro paid £15million for the DR Congo international when they signed him from Nottingham Forest in 2017, they would want a fee worth in excess of £10million to sell him now.
Good move for Aston Villa?
Dean Smith shouldn’t be spending more than £10million on players he doesn’t need.
As good as Assombalonga has been in the Championship over the past few years, Aston Villa simply don’t need him right now when they have Tammy Abraham and Jonathan Kodjia.
Both of them are as proven in England’s second-tier as Assombalonga, so only if one of them was to leave Villa Park should Smith make a move to sign the Boro hitman.
If Villa are still in the Championship next season after Abraham returns to Chelsea, then it might be a good idea to sign him, but for now, money is better off being spent on strengthening the defence.
This is Futbol rating 5/10
Likely to happen?
Abraham doesn’t seem like he’s going to be leaving Villa Park before Thursday’s transfer deadline, so Smith is very unlikely to splash the cash on signing another forward.
If Boro dropped their price-tag then there may be a chance, but it would be a real shock to see someone sign the ex-Forest man in the next 24 hours on a permanent deal.
This is Futbol rating 2/10