Aston Villa have been informed that one transfer target wants a move to Villa Park, a deal that could be bad news for Moussa Diaby.
As the summer transfer window approaches, things are already heating up at Aston Villa.
The Midlands club have been linked with several new signings although the overriding narrative is the doubt over Douglas Luiz’s future.
Due to Villa’s PSR concerns, the club look likely to part ways with the midfielder as part of a swap deal with Juventus, seeing two players arrive in exchange.
Samuel Iling-Junior wants Aston Villa transfer amid Douglas Luiz swap deal
Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior are the two players named as part of a possible swap, with Iling-Junior’s stance on the move now revealed.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the winger is ‘keen on joining’ Villa as talks get ‘underway’ between the Villans, Juventus and the players over a swap plus cash deal.
The 20-year-old, who is said to be valued at €15m (£13m) by Juventus, via TuttoJuve, could soon return to England after leaving Chelsea’s academy in 2020.
Deployed primarily on the left flank, the winger could offer Unai Emery another option in attack, something that may not be good news for everyone at Villa.
Iling-Junior’s arrival could limit Moussa Diaby’s game time even more
After making a club-record move to Villa last summer, the jury’s verdict on Moussa Diaby is still undecided.
The Frenchman shone at times during the 2023/24 campaign but was largely anonymous in other instances, leading to him being dropped to the bench in the final third of the season.
Now, the 24-year-old’s journey at Villa could take another wrong turn due to the arrival of Iling-Junior, who has all the potential to usurp the former Bayer Leverkusen ace.
Eurosport Italy journalist Michele Neri described the Englishman as being an ‘assist machine’ at Juventus, where he showed similarities to AC Milan superstar Rafael Leao, via TNT Sports.
As displayed above, Diaby and Iling-Junior share similar strengths in their approach to play, with the 20-year-old edging ahead in some statistics during the 2023/24 Serie A season.
Given that Diaby has already fallen out of favour with Emery, there could be a long way back for the Frenchman if a talent as promising as Iling-Junior arrives.
The former Bundesliga star saw how quickly a slip down the pecking order can happen, as Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans duelled over his previous starting spot in the latter stages of last term.
There will be hope that Diaby can start the 2024/25 season as fast as he started last term, with a point to prove as the competition begins to heat up.
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