Aston Villa correspondent Ashley Preece has made a claim on reported target Boubacar Kamara and NSWE’s plans for Steven Gerrard in the summer.

The Lowdown: No midfielder

Villa brought in four senior players during the January transfer window, however, none of those came in central midfield.

The club tried their best with bids for Brighton’s Yves Bissouma and Spurs new boy Rodrigo Bentancur, while also reportedly having Kamara on their shortlist.

Kamara remained with Marseille despite links to Leeds and Manchester United and will be a free agent in the summer, should his contract situation in France remain the same.

The Latest: Preece’s claim

Preece ran a Q&A on Birmingham Live in the final hours of the winter window. This is what he had to say in reply to one supporter, revealing Kamara was ‘never’ on Villa’s radar before adding that NSWE will back Gerrard with a ‘huge’ transfer budget in the summer.

“Villa a closed book, all eyes were on Bissouma. Kamara never on Villa's radar, sadly. Can't believe that one looks like it'll go to the summer now when he becomes free agent. Happy with window on the whole? Gerrard will be given big summer budget pal. Huge.”

The Verdict: Interesting…

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano was the man to credit Villa with an interest in Kamara last month.

Villa can technically look to seal a pre-contract agreement with the 22-year-old between now and the end of the season ahead of a summer switch.

However, Gerrard looks set to be handed a big summer budget, and with the club looking to go back in for Bissouma ahead of the 2022/23 season, Kamara may move elsewhere, possibly to a Premier League rival.

In other news: BBC man says 'finances in place' for huge deal for Villa star after late-night Ornstein update.