Aston Villa must double their previous offer of £7million if they want to secure the signing of Joe Lolley in the summer according to journalist, Alan Nixon.
The Sun journalist claimed on his personal Twitter account that the Villans attempted to sign the 26-year-old in January with a £7million move and has now insisted that the City Ground outfit are looking for a fee in the region of £14million for his exit, saying: “It’s double what Villa wanted to pay. So that one far from certain of going through.”
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 2, 2019
It’s double what Villa wanted to pay. So that one far from certain of going through. https://t.co/94xrYGG8nn
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 2, 2019
Dean Smith is said a big admirer of the Nottingham Forest winger who has scored 11 and assisted the same amount of goals in this season’s Championship campaign.
It would require a much bigger fee to confirm the signing in the summer, with Smith clearly wanting to improve his attacking ranks after reportedly already completing a deal for Birmingham’s Jota.
Good move for Villa?
This could prove to be a big sticking point in the eventual future of Forest winger Joe Lolley, who faces the potential of missing out on Premier League football due to Villa being priced out of any deal. Dean Smith will have to certainly sit back and take a breath when considering whether or not to take the plunge and potentially commit a large sum of money on a winger that is very much untested in the Premier League.
For £15million, Smith and Villa could surely target a different player with much more experience and talent, rather than an 11-goal Championship player who was sold after his previous club Huddersfield also made it to the Premier League.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
Lolley has admitted he is a fan of Aston Villa and used to sit in the stands watching his beloved club which could mean he has very much set his sights on the move to Villa but must be careful to not get ahead of himself, with a large sum needed to tempt his current clubs hand.
After Smith made a January offer for Lolley, the interest is clearly strong and another move for the winger could definitely be in the pipeline. The big sticking point is the fact that the two clubs are so far apart in their valuations of Lolley. Villa may clearly want the winger but whether they are prepared to double their offers remains to be seen.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10