Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Aston Villa have the best chance of signing defender Nathan Collins over the next few months.
Villa are reportedly tracking the progress of the Burnley defender after his current side were relegated to the Championship last season , however, Steven Gerrard’s side face competition from fellow Premier League clubs.
Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany was recently appointed as the first-team manager at Turf Moor, and he is reportedly keen on keeping the 21-year-old Irish defender at the club after it was announced that James Tarkowski and Ben Mee would be leaving the Clarets.
With Leeds United and Wolves also showing interest in Collins, Jones spoke to GiveMeSport and tipped Villa to have the best chance at signing him this summer.
He said: “I think he’s definitely a good option for teams with that profile, and I think that Villa will probably have the jump on them in terms of, if they wanted to get him, I think that they would have the best chance of doing so.
“Again, because of Steven Gerrard, but also just because of where the club are heading. So yeah, a really good player that is on the market.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Gerrard has spent no time messing around in the summer transfer window, as he has already signed Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara. However, he might still be keen to upgrade the squad further as Villa finished 14th in the Premier League last term.
Collins signed for Burnley from Stoke City at the start of last season in the hope to play Premier League football, so he may want to leave Turf Moor and move back to the Premier League if the opportunity arises. We think he could be a great signing for Villa, as he is just 21 years old and could learn plenty from new signing Carlos, who has 296 senior appearances to his name.