Aston Villa are on the trail of Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma for quite a long time. The Midlands club are hotly pursuing the defensive midfielder to bolster their squad. Manager Steven Gerrard has reportedly set his sights on Bissouma and wants him in the Claret and Blue colors. Transfer expert Graeme Bailey has now provided the latest on Aston Villa’s Bissouma pursuit claiming that things are going on a positive note.
Aston Villa started quite optimistically under new manager Steven Gerrard. The Midlands club looked set to finish in the top half of the table for the first time since 2011. However, poor results of late hampered their development as they had to settle for a 14th place finish. But Gerrard has made his intentions clear what his plans are with Villa. The manager aims of fighting for the European places next season and needs players accordingly. Villa are further ready to back their manager in the transfer market as evident from the signings of Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara.
Bailey reports Bissouma close to Aston Villa
There were rumors earlier that Gerrard wants to get rid of Douglas Luiz and replace the Brazilian with a new name. Leeds’ Kalvin Philipps and Brighton’s Yves Bissouma were on the radar of Aston Villa. Furthermore, the club have now signed Kamara from Marseille for free. The 22-year-old defensive midfielder has impressed in France and will now play under Gerrard from next season. The manager still wants to add another player in that position and Bissouma is their number one target.
Aston Villa first approached Brighton for Bissouma in the winter transfer market. The Midlanders even tabled a bid for the midfielder which Brighton rejected. However, things could be different in the summer according to Graeme Bailey. Bissouma has only one year left on his contract and has made it clear to Brighton that he wants to leave for a new adventure. As a result, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United have shown interest in the Mali international.
But Bailey suggests it could be Aston Villa who land Bissouma in the summer. Bailey said,
“So I’m told this interest has stepped up even since Sunday, they (Aston Villa) have begun conversations with Brighton and with his people, they’re making it known they want him and this could accelerate quite quickly, this one. We think a fee of around £30m; Tottenham are interested, we’ve heard Arsenal, West Ham and I’m sure there are probably others, too. Bissouma is a wonderful player, I saw him the other week at Leeds and he dominated that game.”
As evident, many of the clubs want Bissouma. Aston Villa would have to hurry a bit if they are to acquire his services. Bissouma has progressed massively with the Seagulls over the last couple of seasons. This season as well, Bissouma has featured in 26 Premier League games for Brighton putting in crucial performances. The midfielder racks up almost 3 tackles and a whopping 1.9 interceptions, 1.8 clearances, and 1.3 dribbles per game.
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