Aston Villa have been linked with an exciting move for a player who is loved by Rio Ferdinand.
Unai Emery is looking to secure a Champions League finish this season and, if reports are to be believed, Villa‘s transfer ambitions could be that of a club amongst Europe’s elite.
Emery may have identified right-back as an area of his squad that requires improving.
Currently, Matty Cash is the only senior right full-back at the club, with Ezri Konsa primarily a central defender despite playing the right-back role fairly regularly.
Cash has been poor in recent weeks and this may have expedited the need for Villa to find a replacement that can help take them to the next level.
If reports coming out of Italy are to be believed, then they could be about to do just that with an audacious move for a Serie A winner.
Aston Villa linked with Denzel Dumfries move
That player is Denzel Dumfries, who currently plays for recently-crowned Italian champions Inter Milan.
According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Aston Villa have now joined the race for the Dutch full-back, with Manchester United also holding long-standing interest.
It is believed that Inter will seek around £26 million for the services of the 28-year-old who has made 130 appearances for the Italian giants since joining in 2021 according to Transfermarkt.
If Villa could pull off a move for Dumfries, they would be signing a player with real pedigree and plenty of experience; his 54 caps for the Netherlands evidencing this.
He is a primarily attack-minded full-back who has played as a wing-back at Inter. This brings out the best in Dumfries, who has scored ten goals and provided 20 assists in his three seasons in Italy.
Villa have been linked with a similarly attacking full-back in the past in Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremy Frimpong, which would suggest Emery wants a right-sided defender who can offer plenty going forward.
Rio Ferdinand a big admirer of Dumfries
Ferdinand is not Villa fans’ favourite pundit at the moment given his mocking of Douglas Luiz when Manchester United beat The Villans in February.
However, Villa had the last laugh as former player Ahmed Elmohamady fired back at the ex-Manchester United defender following the Red Devils’ 4-0 hammering at the hands of Crystal Palace last week.
Ferdinand’s assessment of Dumfries should fill Villa fans with optimism, though, as the 45-year-old was very impressed with what he saw from the Netherlands man when working as a pundit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ferdinand singled out the full-back for praise during the competition, as he said: “He’s integral, just like Daley Blind, to the way that Louis van Gaal works.
“They’re the outlet that get beyond, and he’s a player you look at and think that he’s athletic, can beat people one-on-one. It’s not just about being there, it’s the quality.
“He’s not putting balls in willy-nilly, he’s picking people out, those cutbacks have been ever so dangerous. He doesn’t mind working at the other end of the pitch, as well. He’s been a breath of fresh air for them and a very important player.”
Regardless of what Villa fans may think of Ferdinand, he spent the majority of his career playing alongside one of the best right-backs in Premier League history in Gary Neville so should know a thing or two about what makes a good one.
One player who will be licking his lips at the prospect of Dumfries arriving at Villa Park is Ollie Watkins, who could benefit greatly from the quality of the Inter man’s delivery.
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