Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is already off to a flier with his end of season recruitment after pledging to have an "exciting" summer as he bids to turn the club into contenders for Europe.
Philippe Coutinho was first through the door when his loan from Barcelona was turned into a permanent £17million deal on a contract worth £125,000-a-week. He has since been joined by French midfielder Boubacar Kamara,22, who Gerrard has hailed as one of the best young stars in Europe.
Now Gerrard is turning his attention to bringing in a new defender after both Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings struggled to produce consistently good form this term. Gerrard is also believed to be in the market for a new striker too to give Ollie Watkins more competition.
Villa braced for interest in wonderkid
Villa starlet Carney Chukwuemeka is on Barcelona's radar according to reports in Spain. The England youth international made 12 Premier League appearances for Villa this term, including starting their penultimate game against Burnley. But he is yet to sign a long-term deal with Villa where he has come through the ranks.
Now Spanish radio station SER claims Barcelona are interested in signing the 18-year-old midfielder and claim Barcelona staff Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff have already met his agent. Barcelona have now apparently accepted that Ousmane Dembele will not sign a new contract and will join PSG on a free transfer.
Double raid on Scotland mooted
The Times report Aston Villa are ready to step up their pursuit of the Rangers defender Calvin Bassey after his standout season in which he starred in both the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals.
Bassey,22, has impressed this term and made 52 appearances after joining on a free from Leicester in July 2020.
While north of the border there are also reports Villa will sign Hearts wonderkid Ewan Simpson when he turns 16 this summer after agreeing a compensation fee of around £250,000 with the Scottish club. Simpson has impressed for the Jambos' U18 side this season and is reportedly set to complete his move after his 16th birthday in July.
Villa on alert for Liverpool ace
Mirror Football correspondent John Cross has exclusively tipped Villa to make a potential shock move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28, has one year left on his current deal at Anfield and Liverpool will listen to offers for the England international.
Villa boss Steven Gerrard is a long term admirer of the versatile midfielder who has 35 caps for England and still has a long career in front of him.
