Aston Villa have reportedly made an enquiry for Everton midfielder Amadou Onana as Unai Emery looks to bolster that area of his squad this summer.
The 22-year-old joined the Toffees from Lille in August 2022, and he has since gone on to make 72 appearances for the club, scoring four goals and providing three assists from his central midfield role.
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With 13 caps for Belgium to his name already, he has a bright future ahead of him for club and country, but it remains to be seen if he begins a new chapter in his career in the coming weeks.
According to The Times, both Villa and Paris Saint-Germain have made an enquiry for Onana, with Everton said to be keen to sell him before the end of June given their PSR concerns. It’s noted though, that they value the Belgian international at £50m as they look to make a profit on him, and so it remains to be seen if Villa are capable of making a suitable offer.
The focus for us as well this month appears to be on sales in order to avoid breaching PSR parameters and thus risking a sanction, with the likes of Douglas Luiz, Jhon Duran and Matty Cash being linked with a departure.
It’s hoped that once those deals have concluded, we’ll be in a stronger financial position with significantly more flexibility for the rest of the transfer window to focus on signings and strengthening Emery’s squad.
Our midfield was an area of concern last season given our lack of competition and depth in that department, particularly after losing Boubacar Kamara to injury, while the likes of Luiz, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn were sidelined at various points too through injury or suspension.
Particularly if an exit for Luiz is approved, we most certainly will need to bring in a replacement on top of Weston McKennie who is expected to arrive in exchange, and so time will tell if that solution is Onana.
Based on the names being linked with Villa this summer, it could be argued that there is a clear indication from Emery that he wants to add strength, physicality and athleticism to his side moving forward, as we hopefully look to impose ourselves in games more consistently and effectively.
Onana would tick those boxes, but we’ll likely learn more next month as to who our priority targets are as we look to improve and flesh out the group.
