Aston Villa are aiming to bring Tammy Abraham back to the club in January, with Unai Emery pushing to sign the England international striker and say they are prepared to let two of their 2025 signings leave.
Tammy Abraham could be close to returning to Aston Villa (Image: )
Aston Villa are close to signing Tammy Abraham on a long-term deal, with Unai Emery willing to sacrifice £50m of attacking talent to get the deal done.
Emery is looking to add more strength to a Villa squad that is competing on multiple fronts and turned to Abraham, who knows the club well after spending time on loan at Villa Park during their Championship days.
Negotiations continue, but a four-and-a-half year deal is being considered, underscoring the club’s confidence in the former Chelsea striker. The 28-year-old has several suitors, but the prospect of making the villa his long-term home is believed to have been a major motivator.
Villa will need to proceed with negotiations carefully, taking into account their own PSR issues and the Turkish club’s obligation to sign Abraham, who is on loan at Besiktas from Roma. As a result, Emery could let Besiktas send players out on loan to soften the blow of losing their 12-goal striker.
The Times has reported that Evan Gessand could move from the Midlands club to the Super Lig despite having just joined from Nice for £30 million. However, he is goalless in 12 Premier League games and could become a casualty.
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Villa also released Donyell Malen to Roma, so a replacement will be needed. The Dutchman, who has scored seven goals this term, one behind top scorer Morgan Rodgers, has already flown to Rome and is undergoing a medical today. The £20m Dutchman, who only joined Villa in January last year, will join the Serie A side on a loan deal with a £21m option to buy.
Ollie Watkins is currently the team’s main striker and has recently returned to form after a difficult start to the season, but Emery wants more of a physical presence up top as well. Indeed, Abraham would have added:
He excelled during Villa’s promotion season in 2018-19, scoring 25 goals in 37 Championship games while on loan from Chelsea. He then enjoyed success with the Blues, with Abraham scoring 18 goals in his most prolific season at Stamford Bridge before eventually heading to Italy and joining Roma.
Evan Gessand could leave Villa Park in just a few months (Image: )
Jose Mourinho has turned to Abraham in search of a key player in his attack at the Stadio Olimpico. The Englishman repaid that faith and had the best year of his career, scoring 27 goals. The following year he was plagued by several serious injuries, and last season he was loaned to AC Milan.
Emery has had a tough summer at Villa Park. The club was only open late and suffered from PSR issues. However, while Victor Lindelof has been a huge success, Harvey Elliott’s loan spell is set to be cut short as Villa do not want to pay the £30m required to sign him permanently from Liverpool if he plays five more games. They also signed Jadon Sancho.
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