Aston Villa eye first signing after Champions League windfall as deal confirmed

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 May 2024 16:14 BST
• 3 min read

Aston Villa are eyeing PSG flop Carlos Soler as their first summer signing, according to French media.

Unai Emery has led the Villans into the Champions League for the first time since the competition rebranded in 1991/92, with the Birmingham side last featuring in the European Cup in 1982/83.

Aston Villa's spot in Europe's premier competition was confirmed after Tottenham lost 2-0 to Man City on Tuesday evening. Though results have turned sour in recent weeks, it is a just reward for the brilliant work Emery and his team have done since the coach replaced Steven Gerrard in October 2022.

READ MORE: Ollie Watkins’ three reasons for accepting ‘audacious’ Man Utd transfer offer

Qualification for the Champions League is set to flush north of €50 million into Villa's coffers and Emery and sporting director Monchi are set to continue their ambitious approach to recruitment this summer.

The first arrival of the window could be PSG man Carlos Soler. Signed from Valencia in 2022, the Spaniard has been little more than a utility man for the Parisians and looks on the way out.

An incredibly versatile player, Soler can play quite literally everywhere across the pitch. According to L'Equipe talks between Villa and Soler have been ongoing for several months and the negotiations are now progressing.

First sale confirmed

The first sale of the summer has also been confirmed. OGC Nice have announced that they have made Morgan Sanson's loan move permanent after the Frenchman impressed at the Allianz Riviera.

Sanson's unhappy stint at Villa Park has thus come to an end. Plagued by injury and not favoured by Steven Gerrard, the midfielder recently admitted that Emery wanted to keep him around but that the damage had already been done by that point and that he wanted out last summer.

READ MORE: Man Utd face Aston Villa competition for Dutch superstar

"It was a bit unfair," Sanson said in February. "The problem is that it was Steven Gerrard who arrived instead of Unai Emery. I made the decision to leave when Unai Emery arrived, even though he would have liked to keep me. I told him that me and Aston Villa were finished. Something there was wrong."