Having kept up with them on the pitch, Aston Villa are now reportedly racing against both Arsenal and Chelsea in a battle to sign a midfield gem for Unai Emery in 2025.
Aston Villa transfer news
The Villans have emerged to become a side to watch in the Premier League and now even the Champions League, having qualified for Europe’s elite competition last season. They didn’t take long to put their Champions League status to good use either, luring the likes of Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen into impressive summer transfer moves whilst keeping hold of key man Ollie Watkins.
The England international finally looked back to his clinical best against Everton, netting a brace as Villa came from 2-0 behind to hand Everton a fourth consecutive defeat to open their Premier League campaign. In the end, however, it was Jhon Duran who stole the headlines with his early goal of the season contender.
Whilst the action continues on the pitch, however, those in the Midlands have set their sights on the future. According to Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room, Aston Villa are now racing to sign Souleymane Sidibe ahead of both Arsenal and Chelsea in a deal that would see Unai Emery land a 17-year-old gem who is seemingly destined for great things.
Sidibe is already making an impact on the first team at Stoke, having assisted the winning goal from the bench against Plymouth Argyle, before earning his first league start of the season in a 1-0 defeat against Oxford United.
Having also attracted the interest of Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sidibe may soon have quite the decision to make.
“Magnificent” Sidibe is one to watch
Of course, Villa aren’t against signing from the Championship, having welcomed back academy graduate Jaden Philogene after he impressed at Hull City. And now they could dip back into England’s second tier to sign a player who is showing all the signs of becoming a future star.
Former Stoke City boss Alex Neil certainly believes that’s the case too, telling BBC Radio Stoke after handing the midfielder his full senior debut in a Carabao Cup victory over West Bromwich Albion last season: “I thought his performance justified why he’s been with the first team all pre-season and why I played him in the game.
“I had no concerns over him. He’s a terrific talent but he’s also really mature, for being so young. He did exactly as I expected him to do – he did wonderfully well and he’s played in a Stoke team that won the game, and played the majority of the match.
“I think when you’re 16 years old, most players of that age could only dream of doing something like that. A lot of credit needs to go the players because we had a front line that had never played together. We played a 16-year-old in the middle of the park, who was magnificent, and brought Luke McNally on for his debut as well.”