Monchi personally pushing Aston Villa move for “extraordinary” £18k-p/w man

Aston Villa are readying an audacious bid for a man wanted by plenty of the Premier League big-hitters, according to reports coming out of Italy, with Sporting Director Monchi hot on the case.

Unai Emery’s side making history

Despite having won just one of their previous five Premier League games, Aston Villa and Unai Emery are still on course for a historic season.

They sit fifth in the Premier League and are set for Champions League football next season, which will be their first time in the competition since the 1980s. The Villans remain in the hunt for European silverware this season too, with a showdown against LOSC Lille in the UEFA Conference League before a potential semi-final against Olympiacos or Fenerbahce en route to the final of the competition.

But attention is already turning to summer business, and the latest reports suggest Emery’s side are set to be ambitious in the market once again as they look to push on to bridge the gap to the Premier League’s traditional heavy hitters.

Villa eyeing Zirkzee with Monchi leading the charge

Now, it has emerged from reports in Italy that Villa are the latest side to show an interest in Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee, who has enjoyed a fantastic campaign to date in the Italian top flight.

The Dutch attacker has found the net on 10 occasions in Serie A so far this season, as well as grabbing four assists, and has caught the eye of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool among other clubs across Europe as plenty scramble to try and find a striker before the new season.

According to Italian media [Via GIVEMESPORT], Villa have now joined the race for his services and could even have an advantage over their rivals despite the calibre of the other sides in the hunt for his signature.

That is because of Sporting Director Monchi, who knows Serie A intimately from his time in charge at Roma. He is keen to land Zirkzee and has enlisted the help of super-agent Kia Joorabchian, who already represents Villa duo Douglas Luiz and Philippe Coutinho.

Bologna boss Thiago Motta has already revealed just how special the striker could be, discussing his “extraordinary” qualities earlier in the campaign.

“‘It was an excellent goal from a player with extraordinary qualities. He scored a similar goal in training. Joshua is very talented, but I want to emphasize that he also works very hard for it,” Motta stated after Zirkzee scored against Sassuolo in October.

Any deal would depend on Villa clinching Champions League football for next season, though that seems more of a formality than anything else at present given their advantage over Manchester United in the Premier League.

It would reportedly set Villa back between 60m and 70m euros (£52-£60m), while he would also demand an almost four times increase on his current £900,000 (£18,000 per week) wages.

With Ollie Watkins ploughing an almost lone furrow at the top of the pitch for much of the season, an addition feels necessary for Emery’s side ahead of playing in four competitions once again, and the versatile Dutchman could be the perfect solution.