Aston Villa target Matteo Guendouzi would ‘bring fire’ to Unai Emery’s midfield, according to BBC pundit Alan Hutton.

The Lowdown: Negotiations ongoing

The Frenchman only made the permanent move to Marseille last summer following a successful loan spell, but is now being linked with an exit having fallen out of favour under Igor Tudor.

Guendouzi is still playing regularly but that have been multiple reports of 'bust-ups' throughout the season between him and the coaching staff at the Orange Vélodrome.

The Midlands outfit have reportedly opened talks to sign the midfielder, who is valued at £30m, this month, in a deal that could potentially see him return to the Premier League.

The Latest: Hutton backs Guendouzi move

Asked during an interview with Football Insider whether Guendouzi is the right profile of player to potentially make the switch to Villa Park, Hutton said:

“He would definitely bring fire into that midfield.

“He is a fiery character as we have seen at Arsenal and even Marseille as well. He is still very young, the manager will know him well and know how to get the best out of him which is a plus.

“It is an area where I keep seeing names linked with Villa. It is somewhere Emery obviously wants to improve. I think someone coming with room to get better and provide competition for places is a good thing.”

[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/aston-villa-latest-news-4/" title="Aston Villa latest news!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]

The Verdict: Existing connection

Guendouzi has an existing connection to Emery, having been managed by him at the Emirates Stadium, which could prove advantageous in getting this deal over the line.

The 23-year-old is naturally a central midfielder but can play in defensive and attacking roles as well, not to mention that he loves pitching in when it comes to the final third, having made seven goal contributions across all competitions this season (Transfermarkt).

The Poissy native has also been dubbed a ‘monster’ in the making by scout Jacek Kulig, so would be a really biting addition should he put pen to paper at Villa, averaging more than one tackle and one foul apiece per game in Ligue 1.