Aston Villa are now very interested in signing a “clinical” £40m Premier League player, according to a report.
Villa planning on making multiple January signings
It could be a busy month at Villa Park, with Unai Emery planning to make up to three signings in the January transfer window, and one target is Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen, who could be available for a fee of around £25m.
Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui is another option for Villa, with Emery clearly keen on strengthening in attacking areas this winter, but he could also look to bolster his squad in other areas, and a new midfielder is of interest.
The Villans are keen on signing Chelsea’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, with the Englishman’s career at Stamford Bridge yet to work out, but there could be competition for his signature from a number of other Premier League clubs.
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Dewsbury-Hall is not the only Premier League player on Emery’s list of midfield targets, however, with Football Insider reporting that Aston Villa are very interested in re-signing Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea.
The Blues are willing to sanction Chukwuemeka’s departure this winter, and they would be looking to receive a fee of around £40m, a figure that Villa would not be willing to match.
However, the midfielder remains a concrete target if he is available at a lower price, having failed to make the match-day squad for any of Chelsea’s Premier League games so far this season.
The 21-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge for a fee of £20m back in August 2022, but with the move not working out, he could be on his way back to Villa Park this month.
Aston Villa’s upcoming Premier League fixtures
Date
Leicester City (h)
January 4th
Everton (a)
January 15th
Arsenal (a)
January 18th
West Ham United (h)
January 26th
Wolverhampton Wanderers (a)
February 1st
Chukwuemeka needs to leave Chelsea
The youngster is not getting a look in under Enzo Maresca, but he was showing promising signs prior to his move to Stamford Bridge, and a move back to Villa Park could help him get his career back on track.
Former Chelsea man Marcel Desailly clearly rates the Austria-born midfielder very highly, saying: “I like Carney Chukwuemeka because he is like an artist who comes onto the stage. He has got the ball. Now is my moment. Shine. You see the dribbling. He is sure about what he is going to do and he is clinical. I love it.”
That said, while the former Villa man is showing great potential, the alleged £40m asking price is too steep, given that he is yet to prove himself in the Premier League.
Chukwuemeka has made just 37 appearances in the competition in total, appearing for just 223 minutes across the whole of last season. As such, Aston Villa should try to negotiate a lower fee with Chelsea this winter, which is more similar to the £20m they sold him for back in 2022.