The latest Aston Villa transfer news as Unai Emery’s side were one of the teams said to be showing an interest in the midfielder this summer.
Barcelona have reportedly reached an agreement with Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli for the transfer of Aston Villa linked Franck Kessie.
The midfielder has been a squad player for Barcelona for the past season, coming in and out of the starting XI. He made a total of 28 La Liga appearances last season, scoring once.
Barcelona were therefore eager to cash in on the player this summer, given their well known financial problems. It was claimed last month that the Premier League was the player’s most likely destination with Villa taking an ‘interest’ .
Villa were also linked with the player back in the January transfer window, as well as last summer. But it seems that he is now closing in on a transfer to Saudi Arabia, becoming the latest player to make the move to the middle east.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano , Barcelona has reached a ‘verbal agreement’ with Al Ahli, with the Saudi Arabian club paying a fee of around €15 million (£12.9m). The documents on the deal will be signed in the ‘next hours’, with Kessie signing a three-year contract with the club.
Villa have been linked with interest in midfielders over the last few days. The club are reported to be ‘ ready’ to trigger a release clause in Leeds United’s Tyler Adams’ contract, while the club have again been linked with Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos
Villa have added to their central midfield options this summer, with the arrival of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer. The Belgian impressed with his performance in Thursday night’s pre-season clash vs Lazio, playing a big part in Ollie Watkins’ opening goal in a 3-0 win.
Villa have shown their intent ahead of the new season with the big-money signing of Pau Torres, and the canny free signing of Youri Tielemans.
There’s also the small matter of a European campaign as Villa prepare to battle with other teams from abroad.
The aim is simple, to finish the highest they have done for some time in the Premier League, and to compete for trophies.
There are exciting visions on and off the field at Villa and this season is the perfect time to realise some of the club’s ambitions.
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