Aston Villa are in the hunt to sign Nantes midfielder Valentin Rongier, according to Le Quotidien du Foot.
The French news outlet claims that Lyon and Southampton are also interested in the 24-year-old, who is ready to leave Nantes this season after spending almost his entire life on the books of the Ligue 1 club.
It is understood that as Valentin is prepared to move on this summer, Nantes value the central midfielder at £13.3million in order to boost their finances.
Good move for Aston Villa?
Dean Smith should be looking to add some quality to pretty much every position in his squad this summer and a top class right-footed central midfielder should be something that is high on his list.
Rongier has had an impressive season with Nantes.
He made 43 appearances across all competitions for the Ligue 1 club, scoring four goals and supplying seven assists in the process.
The Frenchman is the captain of Nantes and Aston Villa could certainly do with someone with his technical abilities in their squad this summer.
Although Rongier is a similar kind of player to Conor Hourihane, he might end up being an upgrade.
This is Futbol rating 7/10
Likely to happen?
Lyon appear to be more interested that Villa at this stage and Southampton are certainly a team that has a draw for French players due to it being on the south coast.
It’s too early to tell how serious Aston Villa are about signing Rongier so at the moment, the fans should not hold their breath.
This is Futbol rating 2/10