Aston Villa now lead the race to sign one of their long-term transfer targets and striker Ollie Watkins will love him.
The summer transfer window only opened on Friday but Aston Villa have been in the thick of the action.
Whilst Juventus are close to wrapping up the signing of Douglas Luiz, an agreement in the deal will see winger Samuel Iling-Junior and Weston McKennie move to Villa Park.
The sale of Luiz – on top of Jhon Duran’s proposed move to Chelsea – will alleviate some of the stress caused by PSR, enabling Unai Emery to assemble a Champions League-level squad.
Emery will need to refine his starting XI in certain areas, including at right-back, where Matty Cash has been linked with a move to AC Milan.
Cash has been earmarked as a player they’re happy to let go as long as a replacement is lined up, with Villa now leading the race for one of their long-term targets.
Aston Villa lead the race to sign Denzel Dumfries
Italian news outlet IL Giorno have reported that Villa are in pole position to sign Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries.
The 28-year-old has been chased by the Villans for a while and interest in the Dutch dynamo has heightened since news has emerged of Cash’s potential departure.
Dumfries is entering the final year of his contract at Inter, and although there have been talks over renewing his deal, the Italian giants have slapped a £26 million price tag on him.
For a player entering the final year of his contract, that seems like a lot to pay but given the mounting interest – especially if he has a great tournament at Euro 2024 – landing him for that fee could be a bargain.
With Villa reportedly entering pole position to land his signature, there is one player in particular who would benefit from his arrival.
Ollie Watkins will love playing with Denzel Dumfries
Dumfries is, quite simply, one of the best-attacking full-backs on the planet.
How he powers forward with the ball and breezes past his opponents has seen him described as a “joy to watch” by talent scout Antonio Mango while Rio Ferdinand lauded him as “integral” for club and country.
The devastating Dutchman has certainly backed up that praise with his superb attacking metrics at Inter, producing 11 goals and 20 assists in 132 appearances for the club.
Dumfries utilises his speed, power and attacking prowess to devastating effect and his first thought is to deliver ammunition into the box, a trait that could see Ollie Watkins thrive even more in claret and blue.
Watkins set European football alight last term with his goal and assist numbers, and fired Aston Villa into the Champions League.
The Englishman will return from Euro 2024 this summer and hope to somehow replicate last year’s blistering form.
The addition of Dumfries down the right flank would certainly help as he ranks in the top 9% of full-backs across Europe for assists, the top 6% for progressive passes received and the top 19% for crosses into the penalty area.
This emphasises his capacity to travel deep into the opposition half and send tantalising crosses into the box, which Watkins could get on the end of.
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