Transfer insider Dean Jones believes that Aston Villa may be able to secure a deal to sign Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion this month despite his huge price tag.
The club are being aggressive in the January transfer window and a report from The Athletic has claimed that he would cost around £50m to extricate from the Amex Stadium this month.
What’s the latest with Villa?
They have been spending money and attempting to improve Steven Gerrard’s squad as the club look to climb the league table.
The club secured one of the most eye-catching deals of the transfer window with the signing of Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona.
He will remain with the club until the end of the season, when Villa have the option to buy him should they so wish.
Defender Lucas Digne has also arrived from Everton to bolster the club’s backline.
And it now appears that Gerrard could follow that up with a swoop to sign Bissouma from Brighton, bolstering the midfield in the process.
The Mali international is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with his country and Jones believes that Villa are growing confident that they will be able to secure a deal for his signature.
Indeed, he reports that the club are not deterred by the asking price that Brighton have placed on the 25-year-old, and that the club have been chasing him since the first day of the transfer window.
Bissouma is entering the final 18 months of his contract, so there may well be an opportunity to convince Brighton to do business.
What has Jones said?
He told GiveMeSport on Thursday: "The Bissouma interest is real and Villa aren’t put off by his price tag. They’ve wanted him since the start of the window and have been able to show him how ambitious they are - so there is growing confidence this could happen."
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Would this be a coup?
That’s an understatement.
This would be a genuinely massive deal for Villa to pull off if they can get it done.
Bissouma has previously been linked with clubs who are playing Champions League football, including Liverpool, and a deal to bring him to Villa Park would be an incredible statement of intent.
Villa are currently 14th in the table but bringing Bissouma in, at a fee of £50m, would show that they intend to climb and start pushing for Europe sooner rather than later.
They have to pull out all the stops to get him in.