Aston Villa are close to beating Leeds United to two marquee signings as their summer refurbishment gathers pace.
Ollie Watkins will undergo a Villa medical today after they agreed a £28million deal with Brentford for the prolific striker.
A Villa source has told Football Insider the club are also well placed to sign Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez after submitting a new bid of around £15m.
The offer for the Argentine, 28, was submitted yesterday as Dean Smith steps up his search for a new keeper.
Leeds have also had a strong interest this summer in Watkins and Martinez, as they are in their shortlists for the centre-forward and keeper positions.
United are still interested in recruiting another striker despite the club-record signing of Rodrigo Moreno from Valencia 10 days ago for an initial £27m.
Subscribe to Football Insider TV now
In goal, Marcelo Bielsa has told former Real Madrid man Kiko Casilla he will be the number two if he stays behind 20-year-old Illan Meslier.
Key to the future of Martinez – and both Villa and Leeds’ hopes of landing him – will be Mikel Arteta’s selection for Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Fulham on Saturday.
Should Arteta plump for fit-again Bernd Leno ahead of Martinez after his starring role in the club’s FA Cup triumph and strong finish to 2019-20, that could be enough for the keeper to push for the exit.
The long-serving Gunners man has publicly made it clear he will look to leave if he reverts back to a deputy role.
In other news, Aston Villa have been tipped by Whelan to sign English ace after big Sky reveal.
————————
By: Wayne Veysey
Title: Aston Villa working on beating Leeds to two new signings
Sourced From: www.footballinsider247.com/sources-aston-villa-close-to-beating-leeds-to-two-marquee-signings-after-big-new-offer/
Published Date: Wed, 09 Sep 2020 07:00:20 +0000
