Transfer insider Dean Jones expects Aston Villa to sign either Kalvin Phillips or Yves Bissouma this summer.
The lowdown
According to The Guardian, Gerrard is keen to add a defensive midfielder to his ranks, as well as a striker.
And The Times recently reported that Villa are ‘leading the race’ to sign Phillips from Leeds United.
They’re apparently willing to break their transfer record with a £60million swoop for the Englishman.
Football Insider, meanwhile, claimed this week that Villa had been in contact with Bissouma’s camp ahead of the transfer window.
They allegedly made a ‘£20million-plus’ bid in January, which was rejected by Brighton.
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The latest
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said Villa could submit bids for both players but will ultimately only sign one of them.
“I think they’ll go for both players, but I only expect them to sign one,” he said. “I’ll be very surprised if they got both of those players through the door.”
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The verdict
If Villa were to see bids accepted for both players, who should they prioritise?
Intriguingly, the duo are of somewhat different moulds. Phillips, described as a ‘quarterback’ by Rio Ferdinand, likes to launch long passes from deep, averaging 3.3 a game to Bissouma’s 1.9.
So Villa need to choose a stylistic direction, with Bissouma more of a defensive mind with the fourth-most tackles per game in the division, but there’s also a financial calculation to be made.
If Phillips is to cost as much as £60million, might it be more prudent to pursue Bissouma, who is out of contract in 14 months’ time, putting Brighton in a fairly weak negotiating position.
Signing the Malian could leave Villa with considerably more to spend on the striker position.
In other news, this Villa star is attracting interest from Arsenal.
