Aston Villa are in talks with Adrien Rabiot's entourage about a late move to sign the France star from Marseille, according to Fabrice Hawkins.
Unai Emery's squad has been relatively quiet in the transfer window so far this summer with Marco Bizot and Evann Guessand the only first-team arrivals, while Jacob Ramsey has departed the squad and joined Newcastle United in a £42m deal as the club needed to raise funds.
But with just five days remaining before the deadline, the Villans are now looking to make more additions to the squad in order to strengthen their chances of pushing for Champions League qualification.
Aston Villa in Talks to Sign Rabiot
Rabiot for France BUCHAREST, ROMANIA - JUNE 28: Adrien Rabiot of France looks on during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Round of 16 match between France and Switzerland at National Arena on June 28, 2021 in Bucharest, Romania. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Rabiot, who earns £105,000-a-week at Marseille currently, is set to leave the Ligue 1 club before the transfer deadline after having an altercation with teammate Jonathan Rowe in the changing room, with manager Roberto Di Zerbi choosing to sell both players to solve the issue.
The France international, who has been described as 'elite', is now exploring potential destinations for his next club, and his entourage are holding talks with a number of clubs, including Aston Villa.
AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur are also showing an interest, with the 30-year-old weighing up his options. But so far there have been no club-to-club talks with any of them and Marseille, so a deal is not advanced.
The club are also reportedly keen to bring in a new striker before the deadline with talks ongoing for Chelsea stars Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.
But Emery is also desperate to keep several of his key players around, with talks about Morgan Rogers being pursued by top clubs not going away despite his reported £100m valuation.
A deal for Rabiot could come at the perfect time after holding midfielder Boubacar Kamara was ruled out for several weeks with a hamstring injury picked up during the defeat against Brentford this past weekend, while there is interest from Saudi clubs in Amadou Onana.
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