Aston Villa have become interested in Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat after sanctioning the departure of an existing option in his position, according to reports.
Amrabat has been in demand recently after entering the final year of his contract with Fiorentina. The midfielder impressed for Morocco at the World Cup, which helped generate interest in his services.
Man Utd have been linked with Amrabat, although Fiorentina have denied they have received any offers for him. The interest from Erik ten Hag’s side has been verified in an update by Viola News, though.
According to the latest, Amrabat is attracting interest from Premier League sides Man Utd, Tottenham and Aston Villa.
It is reiterated that none of them have put money on the table to Fiorentina yet. When the time comes, the asking price will be €30m (£26m).
Aston Villa have already strengthened their midfield by picking up Youri Tielemans from Leicester City on a free transfer this summer. But they could be ready to make an ambitious move for Amrabat.
That said, competing with Man Utd may be tough for a couple of reasons. First, the Red Devils have Champions League football on offer next season. Furthermore, Amrabat has already played under Ten Hag before at Utrecht.
However, Aston Villa have qualified for the Europa Conference League next season, so will be aiming to entice Amrabat into accepting their project instead.
Aston Villa offloading current midfielder amid Amrabat interest
Meanwhile, they have given the green light for one of the midfielders already on their books to leave.
According to Foot Mercato, Aston Villa have agreed to send Morgan Sanson to Nice on loan with an option to buy.Sanson spent the second half of last season with Strasbourg after struggling to fight for his place at Villa Park. After getting back on track in Ligue 1, he has caught the attention of Nice.
The Ineos-owned club have fended off competition from Strasbourg and Lille to acquire Sanson’s services. The value of their option to buy has not been disclosed in the report.
If Aston Villa can manage to offload a player they barely had use for in the shape of Sanson and replace him with a coveted talent like Amrabat, it would represent a serious upgrade.
As things stand, though, their pursuit of Amrabat is not as advanced as the negotiation to send Sanson away again.
Furthermore, Aston Vi
lla may have to be wary of interest from another of Amrabat’s suitors – Tottenham – in their own Douglas Luiz as well.
The Brazil international has reportedly been identified by Tottenham as a possible successor to the exit-linked Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
