Aston Villa are reportedly keen on Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone as we look set to compete with Liverpool and Wolves.
The 22-year-old has established himself as a key figure for the Bundesliga outfit after making 31 appearances last season, and that was off the back of an impressive stint at Toulouse as he has gained valuable experience across both leagues.
READ MORE: Villa officials travel to Spain to find resolution for key issues in Monchi deal
Capped seven times at U21 level for France too, Kone seemingly has a bright future ahead of him, and according to The Daily Mail, Villa have joined Liverpool and Wolves in the hunt to land his signature this summer.
It’s added that Kone is valued at £35m and so it will take a significant fee to prise him away from Germany, but our interest is touted in the report and so it remains to be seen if it develops into a formal bid being submitted to acquire his services.
Villa have already been active this summer to bolster Unai Emery’s midfield, as the club have confirmed that Youri Tielemans will join us on a free transfer on July 1.
Given the speculation above, it seems as though the Villa boss is keen to strengthen his options in that department further, while it could also mean exits for those who are perhaps deemed surplus to requirements.
According to The Athletic, three clubs are interested in signing Leander Dendoncker, while it’s added that Villa are expected to try and move both Morgan Sanson and Marvelous Nakamba on in the coming weeks, and so that could in turn leave a void that needs to be filled with new signings.
Our hope next season of course is to continue to climb the Premier League table, but also to compete for domestic silverware and enjoy a deep run in the Europa Conference League, and so with that hectic fixture schedule, Villa will need quality competition and depth across the squad.
While Tielemans is a great start to raising the level in the midfield room, if we do sign off on a number of exits this summer, that will mean we’ll look to upgrade in that area and so time will tell if Kone is the target that emerges as the best solution for us.
