Denzel Dumfries
Liverpool attempted to sign Denzel Dumfries in the January transfer window, and Aston Villa can now take advantage of the Netherlands international’s transfer situation in the summer.
Sport Witness covered the Liverpool’s late approach for the defender in the winter transfer window. This was also confirmed by Beppe Marotta, but Inter’s failure to sign Ivan Perisic saw Dumfries stay at the Serie A league leaders.
So far this season, the right-back has played 20 times in all competitions, having seen his game time reduced by an injury.
Since returning, he has shown his importance to the side, starting each of the last two Serie A games.
Even if he seems to be convincing Cristian Chivu more than Luis Henrique, Dumfries could be on his way out of the Nerazzurri. Aston Villa are among the clubs who can take advantage of the opportunity, with Liverpool still there.
Dumfries’ release clause is appealing to clubs
L’Interista report on the Netherlands international, making it clear that his future at Inter is up in the air.
Ideally, the Nerazzurri would want to keep him but Dumfries has a release clause worth €25m. This will be active from July onwards, with the 29-year-old having recently changed his agents. Even if Inter want him to stay, they will not have full control.
Besides, Aston Villa see this as a major opportunity and are competing with Liverpool and Manchester City for the player’s signature.
Inter know about all this and are already looking around for possible replacements. Atalanta’s Marco Palestra is on their shortlist. Moussa Diaby is also being considered, he was pursued quite aggressively in January.
Agent games potentially at play
This isn’t the first time that Aston Villa have been linked with Dumfries.
Since he recently changed agents and his contract expires in 2028, this is a convenient way of helping Dumfries earn a last, major contract. He is 29 and declining, with injuries now slowly catching up on him.
At one point, he could have been an excellent signing for Aston Villa, or even Liverpool. Now, it presents quite a bit of risk.
Besides, Dumfries isn’t a creative right-back. He is more of a receiver in the final third and this has constantly been seen at Inter. Having a player like him would require Unai Emery to significantly adjust his current system.
🇪🇸 Jules Koundé | Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea front page transfer tussle
➡️ Rumoured €80m Reds offer likely acceptable
🔁 Koundé linked to PL clubs every year… a traditionhttps://t.co/UIX8fZLvHX #lfc #mcfc #cfc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) April 1, 2026