Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now claimed Aston Villa are looking to secure the signing of a new defender for Unai Emery.
Champions League football is on the menu for Aston Villa in the upcoming campaign and with that will be the need to bolster Unai Emery‘s squad.
More games at a higher level will mean Villa will be required to rotate their squad if they are to remain competitive on all fronts.
Work is seemingly already being put in place to improve the squad at Villa Park with Emery’s side also said to be in talks over a deal for Weston McKennie.
But it is also in defence where Villa are looking to make some additions with negotiations currently ongoing to see an exciting player join the Villans.
Aston Villa in talks to sign Ian Maatsen from Chelsea
Villa are one of the sides who are in danger of facing PSR penalties going into the new campaign.
The deadline of June 30 is quickly creeping up on Emery’s side who are in need of selling some players to balance the books.
But this is not stopping them from eyeing potential summer additions.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa are now pushing to sign left-back Ian Maatsen from Chelsea this summer.
Talks between Chelsea and Villa for striker Jhon Duran are also believed to have involved the possibility of including the left-back who spent the second half of the 2023/24 campaign with Borussia Dortmund.
However, it is not going to be straightforward for Villa if they are going to land the £35m defender with Dortmund keen to make his stay permanent this summer.
Ian Maatsen would provide Villa with real quality in depth
An interesting dilemma is on the agenda at Villa this summer with Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno potentially needing to make way over the coming weeks.
With Maatsen a player of interest for Emery’s side, three left-backs would surely be too many options in one position for one side.
The current options at Villa are both considerably older than Maatsen and the youngsters potential arrival may lead to one of them being forced out of the club.
On a believed £120k-per-week, the signing of Maatsen could open the door for Villa to offload one of their top earners in Digne which would certainly be a boost to the FFP situation.