Aston Villa have been paired with an interest in both Wayne Hennessey and Danny Ings, while we’re expected to launch a third bid for Emile Smith Rowe.
Villa have already been active in the summer transfer window, signing both Emiliano Buendia and Ashley Young as Dean Smith looks to strengthen his squad ahead of the upcoming campaign.
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Further reinforcements are expected following a string of exits last month, and so it remains to be seen who else is targeted in the coming weeks to arrive at Villa Park.
Villa paired with Hennessey move
After Tom Heaton’s departure to re-join Man Utd, there is a void in the goalkeeping ranks behind first-choice option Emiliano Martinez, and the Daily Mail report that Villa are considering Hennessey.
The 34-year-old is currently a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace as his contract expired last month, and so he could be a sensible option to address that issue without having to splash out on a transfer fee.
Time will tell if Villa step up their reported interest, as they do have internal solutions to consider too with Jed Steer and Lovre Kalinic available to Smith, as well as our shot-stoppers at youth level.
Villa linked with Ings interest
While Ollie Watkins had an impressive debut campaign with us last year, there is also a concern over a lack of depth in attack with Smith short of proven options up front.
Wesley will continue to work his way back to being at 100 percent this summer following a lengthy injury layoff, and the hope is that he can build on his cameo appearances towards the end of last season and get back to his best.
Keinan Davis showed his ability to influence a game off the bench, but scoring goals has still been a problem for him.
In turn, The Athletic report that along with Tottenham and West Ham, Villa have shown an interest in Southampton forward Ings, who is said to be refusing to sign a new deal with the Saints with his current contract running until 2022.
Ings, 28, has scored 46 goals and provided 10 assists in 100 appearances for Southampton, and so there is perhaps an argument in favour of bringing him in to compete with Watkins for a starting berth, and to also offer Smith an option to rotate when needed.
Villa preparing third Smith Rowe bid
Despite having had two bids rejected by Arsenal already, the Mail report that Villa are preparing a third for Smith Rowe, which will now have to be in excess of £30m if we wish to prise the 20-year-old away from north London.
It’s added that the Gunners are trying to convince him to sign a new long-term deal with them, and so time will tell whether or not he’s convinced by their talks, or if he’s swayed by the challenge of moving to Villa and the project that we’ve sold to him.
Having struggled in the final third in Jack Grealish’s absence in the second half of last season, adding more quality and creativity in that department is an obvious priority for Villa and Smith this summer, with Buendia arriving to help solve that issue too.
It remains to be seen if Smith Rowe arrives as well to give Villa one of the more dangerous and exciting attacking units in the top flight.