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Aston Villa’s Europa League triumph under Unai Emery has transformed the mood around Villa Park.
The Birmingham club will now be looking to consolidate their status as a regular presence in Europe’s latter stages rather than a one-season wonder.
Emery’s side swept aside Freiburg in the final, delivering Villa’s first major European trophy since their famous European Cup win in 1982.
With expectations rising, attention has now turned to how Villa can strengthen.
One potential complication for Villa’s summer plans is the growing interest in Morgan Rogers.
The key attacker is attracting concrete interest attention from Arsenal. And it seems they are already preparing replacement options as a result.
The Athletic has reported that the Unai Emery’s side have “expressed strong interest” in Liverpool target Jarrod Bowen:
“Aston Villa have expressed a strong interest in West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen. No club-to-club discussions have taken place and Villa view an agreement as currently difficult to do because they need to make player sales,” reports Jacob Tanswell and Roshane Thomas.
“Unai Emery is a huge admirer of the forward, but the 29-year-old, who has four years left on his contract, has not decided whether he wishes to leave.”
They add that Bowen could sell for at least £50m but that West Ham are not looking to sell:
“Industry sources say they would expect talks for the player to start at £50m, but sources at West Ham, who were relegated to the Championship last season, have indicated they are not looking to sell.”
DaveOCKOP.com exclusively revealed in April that Bowen is a name that the club is looking at this summer.
The Reds’ interest is longstanding, having courted the Hammers skipper back in 2023 amid concern that the club needed another natural wide attacker.
Bowen ended up signing a new contract later that year, ending suggestions Liverpool could get him at a cut-price fee.