Aston Villa close to beating Man Utd to BARGAIN midfielder - Romano

Tom Weber

Updated: 20 May 2024 16:49 BST
3 min read

Aston Villa are closing in on the signing of Ross Barkley, according to reports.

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Unai Emery's Villans are set for a big summer after stealing the club's first-ever qualification to the Champions League, with Aston Villa not having featured in Europe's premier competition since the European Cup days in the 1980s.

The Birmingham outfit have received a sizeable windfall in excess of €50 million just for qualifying for the tournament and look intent on putting this money to good use. It initially appeared as though Carlos Soler from PSG would be their first summer signing, but their first recruit will come from much closer to home.

Initially reported by The Guardian and since confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa are close to sealing a deal for former Everton and Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley.

Villa to sign Barkley and offload Carlos

Despite Luton Town suffering relegation, many of their players gave a good account of themselves and Barkley, in particular, was one of the standout performers in the Hatters' side.

Indeed, such was the 30-year-old's impact that FootballTransfers revealed in April that Man Utd had taken a liking to the midfielder. Now, Villa are set to beat the Red Devils to his signature, with Unai Emery said to be a fan and pushing for this transfer.

The Telegraph also reports that Villa are open to cashing in on defender Diego Carlos this summer despite their Champions League windfall. The 31-year-old centre-back only joined the club for €31m in the summer of 2022.

Due to their ambitious transfer business in recent years, particularly under Emery, Villa have had some issues with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules while also having to worry about UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. It seems they don't want to leave anything to chance and will try to raise funds from sales before spending big.