Aston Villa are in the hunt to sign Middlesbrough midfielder Marcus Tavernier, according to the Northern Echo.
The newspaper claims that Watford and Bayer Leverkusen have also shown interest in the 20-year-old, who was frustrated with the amount of game-time he managed to get under Tony Pulis’ leadership at The Riverside this season.
It is understood that if Tavernier was to leave Boro then he would not be short options, but it could take a “sizeable” offer to force the Teesside club into considering his exit.
Good move for Aston Villa?
Tavernier is a good young player who would definitely be a good signing for Dean Smith.
However the left-sided midfielder is not ready for Premier League football just yet after only managing 27 appearances in all competitions for Boro in the 2018/19 campaign.
Of course some of that is down to the negative style of play of Pulis, but that lack of game-time means that he is less battle-hardened than what Villa should be looking for in players this summer.
Tavernier would be someone for the future if Villa signed him and if they can afford to sign players like that, who won’t be ready for a couple of years, then they should press on with a bid.
However Smith should be a bit more shrewd this summer and avoid disrupting the balance of the squad too much after winning promotion.
Fulham threw money at clubs to sign players last year and look at what happened to them.
This is Futbol rating 5/10
Likely to happen?
Watford seem to be more interested in Tavernier than Aston Villa are at the moment and due to the fact that it could cost a lot of money to sign the winger, Smith might end up looking elsewhere.
Villa should secure Anwar El-Ghazi and a more proven left-sided winger before looking at youngsters for the role like Tavernier, and that is why a move for the England Under-20 international is unlikely at this moment in time.
This is Futbol rating 2/10