Aston Villa have made a £10m offer for RC Lens midfielder Cheick Doucoure, according to Made in Lens, cited by Sports Witness.
The Lowdown: Doucoure profiled
Doucoure is 21 years of age and already has seven caps for Mali under his belt.
He’s been with Lens since 2018 and has racked up 95 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring seven times, mainly as a holding midfielder.
He can also play at centre-back, has three years left on his Lens contract and appears to be at the top of his game with his career-high £5.4m Transfermarkt valuation.
The Latest: Villa bid
Made in Lens, relayed by Sports Witness, shared the story on Wednesday regarding Doucoure.
Serie A side Atalanta and Premier League giants Arsenal are thought to be on Doucoure’s case, but it is Villa who are the first club to make a bid.
The report claims that the offer was worth £10m (€12m), however, Lens are holding out for a fee in the region of €15-€18m.
The Verdict: Doucoure in Nakamba out?
With Villa firming up their interest in Doucoure with an official bid, the future of Marvelous Nakamba could well be up in the air.
Nakamba is being monitored by both Everton and Watford, and should Villa cash in on the 27-year-old, they would be in line to make a profit on the £11m they paid Club Brugge two years ago.
Should Villa manage to bring Doucoure to Villa Park, Dean Smith may well be willing to move Nakamba on - only time will tell.