Aston Villa are reportedly set to close in on the signing of Ross Barkley from Luton Town, with a medical now expected to take place.
The 30-year-old enjoyed an impressive season last year on his return to the Premier League with the Hatters, scoring five goals and providing six assists in 37 appearances.
READ MORE: Villa confirm signing to bolster Emery’s attacking options
It appears as though that form caught the attention of Unai Emery and Villa, as Fabrizio Romano now reports that we will enter into the formal stages to acquire him, after reaching an agreement with Luton over a deal worth around £5m.
He adds that contract details have also already been agreed, and so it’s now down to the final details and formalities, including a medical, in order to complete the transfer and confirm Barkley as another of our summer reinforcements.
Given his experience and technical quality as well as the momentum he’s building again at this stage of his career after rediscovering his best football at Luton, Barkley promises to be an astute addition to the Villa squad.
Emery has evidently seen something in his play that he believes will help improve us and fit our style, and particularly amid exits at the club as Douglas Luiz is expected to join Tim Iroegbunam in leaving Villa this summer, there is a reshuffle or even a rebuild of our midfield being carried out.
As impressive as we were last season, the Villa boss will no doubt want to continue to strengthen the squad with his own options who suit his way of playing and structure more effectively, and coupled with the need to have a big enough group to cope with a gruelling campaign as we try to compete on multiple fronts again, Barkley is certainly capable of playing a pivotal role in that.
Villa confirmed our first signing of the summer in Lewis Dobbin from Everton this weekend, and amid intense speculation, there is likely to be a flurry of incomings in the next week or so having begun the process of offloading players to address our PSR issues before the end of June.