According to reports, Aston Villa have decided to ‘raise’ their offer for a Barcelona star who has been on Unai Emery’s radar for several months.
This summer transfer window has been frustrating for Aston Villa as their business has been limited amid the fear of breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
It has been suggested that the Villans could have to sell to buy amid reports linking Emiliano Martinez, Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey with exits.
However, Unai Emery’s side are starting to make moves and reached an ‘agreement’ for their first major summer signing on Tuesday as they are set to sign Nice forward Evann Guessand for around £30m.
Fabrizo Romano revealed on X: “Aston Villa are closing in on Evann Guessand deal with OGC Nice and player’s camp. Negotiations for €35m fee at final stages with details being sorted between clubs. Player said yes to #AVFC with details of his contract also being finalised.”
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Aston Villa are also said to be working on other deals, as a report in Spain claims they have resumed talks with Barcelona over landing former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres.
The versatile attacker was only a bit-part player for Barcelona in 2024/25, but he still managed to grab 19 goals and seven assists for the Spanish giants in all competitions.
Despite this, an exit remains possible as Marcus Rashford’s arrival could limit his opportunities and Villa are looking to capitalise.
The report says Villa are to ‘raise’ their proposal for Torres to around 50 million euros, but Barcelona have ‘doubts’ about sanctioning his exit.
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The report claims:
‘Villa have already submitted several offers, around 40 million euros, which were also rejected by Barça. Now, however, Villa Park is willing to pay the 50 million euros that Laporta and Deco were demanding for the 25-year-old striker until recently.
‘Emery hopes they’ll accept this time, and that Torres could eventually return to the Premier League . But nothing’s confirmed yet. Because Deco is the first to be pleasantly surprised by Ferran’s performance, and now he’s considering whether it’s really worth selling him, even if they can get a significant sum in return.’
Another Aston Villa deal is close to completion, though. Journalist Sacha Tavolieri has claimed in a report for Sky Sport that they have ‘all of the green lights’ from Lucas Digne and his representatives to extend his contract.
Tavolieri added: ‘If all agreements are validated, as appears to be the case on all sides, Lucas Digne should tie his future to Aston Villa for two more seasons.’