Aston Villa add title winner to transfer wish list in attempt to take advantage of £40m tumble

Stefan de Vrij could be the next high-profile capture for Aston Villa in the transfer market if they can prise him away from Inter Milan, a report reveals.

Aston Villa have shown their ambition in the last couple of transfer windows. Last summer, they spent around £90m to bolster their squad. However, Dean Smith couldn’t quite get a tune out of the new-look squad, so lost his job.

He was replaced by Steven Gerrard, who helped Villa bolster the ranks further in January. During the winter market, they notably signed Lucas Digne from Premier League rivals Everton and Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona.

Gerrard has inspired some better results from Villa, who are now in the top half of the Premier League. But he knows that to get to European level, there is still a gap they have to close.

Making more signings in the summer should help them. One area to strengthen, Football Insider remind, is at centre-back.

In that position, their main starting duo is Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. Their backups are Calum Chambers and Kortney Hause. Earlier in the season, they also had Axel Tuanzebe. But his loan from Manchester United was cancelled after his gametime dropped under Gerrard.

The former Liverpool captain may now be looking for further evolution to his backline. In that regard, he is supposedly targeting a move for De Vrij.

Football Insider claim that the Netherlands international is on Villa’s radar. What’s more, he is likely to be available for a lower amount than the £40m fee that would have been necesary in January.

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De Vrij has been a mainstay of the Inter side over the past few years. He helped them win Serie A last season and has been a big part of their efforts to retain their title this term.

They may fall short this time around, but that has not reduced De Vrij’s stock. He remains an elite operator in his position and at the age of 30 has plenty of experience.

The reason his value is dropping is merely because of his contract situation. Unless they can renew his deal, Inter will lose him for free in 2023. They may prefer to cash in while they can, since they still have some financial issues.

Aston Villa to beat Tottenham to De Vrij?

Villa could take advantage if they are willing to meet any asking price. Although De Vrij has never played in the Premier League before, there is no doubt his experience would be a major benefit to his potential takers.

With 55 caps for the Netherlands, the former Feyenoord and Lazio defender has big pedigree. He won the award for the best defender in Serie A for the 2019-20 season and made it into the league’s team of the year for that and the subsequent campaign.

Soon, it could be time for De Vrij to show his talents to a Premier League audience. Villa will be the ones hoping to give him that platform.

Tottenham have also been linked with De Vrij in the recent past. They are looking for another defensive signing and Antonio Conte worked with him at Inter.

However, Football Insider do not mention anything of Tottenham’s potential interest in their most recent write-up. Instead, it is Villa who seem to be the most active in the transfer pursuit at present.

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