Aston Villa are readying a club-record £20million bid to bring Neal Maupay to Villa Park, according to the Sun.
The report claims that Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens want to reunite Brentford’s 25-goal striker with former manager Dean Smith in the Premier League.
The previous Villa record was the £18million deal that brought Darren Bent to Villa in 2011.
They will face competition from Burnley, Brighton and newly promoted Sheffield United and Norwich.
Good move for Aston Villa?
We think so. Maupay is untested in the Premier League but he’s more than proved himself in the Championship last season, when he scored 25 goals in 43 games for a mid-table team. Dean Smith signed him for £1.8million from Saint-Étienne and that’s proved to be an absolute masterstroke for Brentford who could turn a massive profit on the 22-year-old just two years later. Smith obviously knows the player well and thinks that he can slip into the space soon to be created by Tammy Abraham as he returns to try and prove himself at Chelsea.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
£20million is a lot of money and we could see that getting the job done for a Championship striker. However, Villa face competition from other Premier League sides, including Norwich who went up as Champions. Aston Villa re a bigger club and the Smith link could well push Maupay towards the midlands this summer.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10