Aston Villa have a "genuine interest" in Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, the Daily Express' Ryan Taylor has told GiveMeSport.
However, the journalist thinks the French club will possibly ask for a huge fee for the former Arsenal player.
GiveMeSport Transfer News
Aston Villa transfer news - Matteo Guendouzi
Earlier this month, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs claimed that Villa are working on signing Guendouzi.
According to Jacobs, Marseille want €50m (around £44m) for the 23-year-old, who cost them significantly less when they bought him from Arsenal in 2022.
As reported by BBC Sport, the Ligue 1 side signed Guendouzi for just £9m last July after an initial loan spell at the Orange Velodrome.
Guendouzi has, of course, worked with Villa boss Unai Emery before, with the Spaniard having managed him at Arsenal.
Read more: January Transfer Window 2023: Confirmed Deals, Rumours and Everything You Need To Know
What has Ryan Taylor said about Matteo Guendouzi and Aston Villa?
While nothing has really happened yet, Taylor says Villa are interested in Guendouzi.
When asked if a deal was possible this month, the Daily Express journalist said to GMS: "Yeah, I think it is. I don't think the deal is advanced. I've seen Marseille director [Pablo] Longoria come out and say they've not even received a bid, so I don't know where this is sort of coming from, but there is genuine interest. Marseille might demand a fairly substantial fee, though."
Why does Unai Emery want Matteo Guendouzi?
As already mentioned, Emery has worked with Guendouzi before and seems to rate the Frenchman quite highly.
When the two were still at Arsenal, he said (via Daily Mirror): "He has a big ambition, big quality."
Guendouzi has also shown in his homeland that he can be quite a positive midfielder. As per FBref, he has ranked in the 86th percentile for touches in the attacking penalty area and the 89th for progressive passes received among his positional peers over the last year.
Based on the above, and the fact that he has time to get much better given his age, Guendouzi could be a smart addition to Villa's squad this month.
Whether he is worth £44m, though, is an entirely different conversation. Whatever the case, again, Emery seems to like the France international and appears to be pushing for him to be brought to Villa Park.
It will now be interesting to see if the 51-year-old's superiors are willing to back their manager and hand him Guendouzi before the January transfer window closes.
You can find all of the latest football news and rumours right here.