Aston Villa in pole position to seal double deal as NSWE approve £238m spree for Emery

To say it’s been a summer of change at Aston Villa would be quite the understatement. The Villans have almost half of the starting side that won the Europa League final against Rayo Vallecano at the end of last season and have been forced into the market to spend big.

Morgan Rogers swapped Villa for Chelsea for a British record £117m fee, before Youri Tielemans sealed a move to Manchester United, who triggered his £35m release clause. Ezri Konsa is now set to follow suit and join Arsenal for just over £50m, Lucas Digne has joined PSG and Emi Martinez is still expected to leave.

The positive news is that it’s given Villa money to spend for the first time in forever. The bad news is that they’ve been left desperately hoping it’s money well spent.

They’re not quite done on the transfer front, either. After losing Konsa, Villa also find themselves in a battle to keep hold of Ollie Watkins. The Midlands club have been forced to turn down multiple offers from Al-Hilal, with the latest being £45m. The Saudi Pro League side are not giving up, however, and have already agreed personal terms with the forward.

Losing Konsa and Watkins would be the biggest disaster yet, but NSWE have already signed off on a hefty spending spree to land further replacements in the form of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Nicolas Jackson.

Aston Villa in pole position to sign Harwood-Bellis and Jackson

REUTERS/Action Images/Craig Brough

Starting with their Konsa replacement, Aston Villa initially launched an offer to sign Harwood-Bellis for around £18m only to face instant rejection. They, however, remain in pole position to sign the centre-back and have been told to pay £25m for the central defender – an affordable price after Konsa’s exit.

Then there’s the problem of finding a new striker. Interest in Jackson isn’t new, far from it. Instead, it’s simply more urgent. According to The Telegraph’s Matt Law, Aston Villa are set to launch their move to sign Jackson, who is valued at £65m by Chelsea.

The Villans are seen as the most realistic bidders, with Atletico Madrid looking to seal a loan move instead, despite Chelsea preferring a permanent exit. Jackson, meanwhile, is also looking for an exit before the end of the month and worked with Unai Emery at Villarreal in the past.

REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo

In pole position to land both deals, NSWE appear to be signing off on a further outlay of £90m which would take their summer total to a whopping £238m.

With time running out in the transfer window, the potential of losing both Konsa and Watkins has forced the Midlands club to act with instant urgency.