Having already secured the arrival of Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund, Aston Villa now they are reportedly targeting the in-demand striker worth over £21m.
Aston Villa transfer news
Desperate to finish in the top four in a row Premier League and qualify for the Champions League as a result, those at Villa Park acted as quickly as ever Unai Emery a new option for the future. Malen – an experienced striker following his exploits at Dortmund – gives the Spaniard an immediate upgrade on the struggling Leon Bailey and a player capable of sharing goalscoring responsibilities with Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran.
When asked about that aforementioned experience in a question and answer session on the club’s official website, Small said: “I’ve seen a lot of football. Now I was in different leagues. I played in the Euros, I played in many tournaments, so that creates a lot of character, so from that moment I just have to show it.”
However, as one experienced option arrives, a younger option seems to have popped up on the radar of those in the Midlands. According to Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany, Aston Villa have now joined the race to sign Stefanos Tzimas from PAOK Thessaloniki after a loan to FC Nurnberg at the end of the season.
Connected
The 19-year-old forward has also attracted interest from Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion to create a real race for his signature which will reportedly be worth €25m (£21m) plus add-ons when the summer transfer window arrives.
A player who progressed in the German second division on loan this season, Tzimas could still get the final chance to take the biggest step in his career so far thanks to Aston Villa.
“Exciting” Tzimas is one to watch
Although still only a teenager, Tzimas showed all the signs of a future star during his time in Nuremberg and deserves to reap the rewards for such success. Alas, whether Aston Villa’s interest puts Duran’s future in question once again will be interesting to see. He was already clinically ahead linked with a move to West Ham United this month, and Tzimas could be considered an ideal replacement when summer arrives.
Scoring eight goals and an assist for two more in 15 games in all competitions so far this season, the Greek striker certainly knows how to find the goal in the rising star that Jacek Kulig saw coming in October. The Football talent scout he called the striker “one of the most interesting young strikers in Europe” and predicted an “exciting future”.
A summer move to Aston Villa would only accelerate the attack towards that increasingly impressive potential.
