Aston Villa are believed to be among the many Premier League sides who are weighing up a move for one striker who scouts are privately comparing to Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres.
Villa's transfer plans for Unai Emery this summer
Villa's transfer window is shaping up to be one of the more active of clubs in the Premier League.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reacts
Unai Emery and president of football operations, Roberto Olabe, are both working to strengthen a squad currently sitting fourth in the table and in contention for Champions League football, while also navigating some potential departures.
Morgan Rogers has emerged as one of the most sought-after players in England, with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United all understood to be monitoring the playmaker ahead of the summer.
Ollie Watkins is another whose future is in question, with reports suggesting Villa would consider offers of around £30m for the striker — a figure that looks modest given his output over the last few years.
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Unai Emery's side are attempting to win a competitive race.
On the incomings side, Inter Milan forward Marcus Thuram has been identified as a target, with soon-to-be free agent defender Marcos Senesi is another name in the frame, while Julian Brandt of Borussia Dortmund — out of contract in the summer — has been linked too.
Villa weighing up move for Swansea City star Zan Vipotnik
Now, TEAMtalk and journalist Graeme Bailey report that Aston Villa are among a group of Premier League clubs to have carried out detailed checks on Swansea City striker Zan Vipotnik, the Slovenian forward who has become the Championship's top scorer this season.
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Slovenia striker Zan Vipotnik.
Vipotnik joined Swansea on a free transfer from Bordeaux in 2024, having been on the radar of English clubs during his time in France.
After seven goals in a steady debut campaign, the 24-year-old, who's valued at around £15m, has hit 22 in all competitions this season and is the division's leading marksman.
Scouts at several clubs are said to have drawn parallels with Arsenal's main centre-forward, calling him the "new Viktor Gyokeres", and it is actually unsurprising given he developed into a top-level forward during his time in the Championship before joining Sporting CP, where he scored 97 goals in 102 appearances before moving to Arsenal last summer.
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Villa are joined in their interest by Newcastle, Everton, Leeds, Brentford and West Ham, all of whom have run checks on the forward.
Within the Championship, Coventry and Ipswich — both pushing for promotion — are keeping a close eye on the situation too.
Swansea moved to tie Vipotnik down to a new long-term deal last month, though that decision was understood to be motivated primarily by protecting his transfer value rather than any expectation of a prolonged stay in South Wales.
With no shortage of Premier League interest building, the Welsh club understandably face a difficult task keeping him beyond the summer.
For Villa, a proven goalscorer at Championship level fits the profile of a lower-risk, high-potential addition — the kind of signing Emery has shown an appetite for during his time in the Midlands.
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The Villans have joined the race for a "magnificent" player.