Unai Emery green lights Aston Villa signing, paves way for Man Utd transfer

Aston Villa are reportedly eyeing up another striker to add to their ranks, which could facilitate a domino transfer effect in and out of the Premier League.

For more than a year now, Villa striker Ollie Watkins has been linked with an exit from the West Midlands outfit, which has included interest from Arsenal and Turkish clubs.

The England international turns 31 at the end of this year and is into the last two years of his contract.

The former Brentford man may have lost a yard of pace in the last 12 months or so, which may be why Villa are mulling over his future.

After forward Donyell Malen joined Roma last season, Villa decided to recruit Tammy Abraham from Besiktas. But just six months on from that deal, the Villans may be willing to listen to offers for the 28-year-old.

Villa are back in Champions League action this season, meaning they will need more strength in depth, and after selling Morgan Rogers for a whopping £117m to Chelsea last month, they desperately need more attacking firepower.

Unai Emery‘s team have dealt with Italian teams in the transfer market before, most notably when they sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus in 2024, before bringing him back on loan for the second half of last season.

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Aston Villa eye Jonathan David, as Juventus plot Man Utd move

Now, they are seemingly prepared to do business with the Old Lady again, this time for Canada striker Jonathan David – who was formerly linked with Manchester United and Arsenal.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via Sport Witness, Juve are focus on possible sales and David, 26, is one such person.

The former Lille man, who scored just eight goals in 46 games for Juventus last season, is attracting interest from Villa, with Emery ‘leading’ that interest.

However, there is a financial hurdle that could scupper the move. The report states he earns €6m (£5.1m) a year but Villa would struggle to pay that.

Villa may be able to negotiate there in the hope they can reignite the player that scored more than 25 goals in each of his last three seasons at Lille.

If that deal does progress, that could open the door for Juventus signing Man Utd forward Joshua Zirkzee and Bologna centre-back Jhon Lucumi.

The Red Devils will want to recoup as much of their initial £36.5m outlay on Zirkzee, which may test Juventus’ resolve. Despite signing Randal Kolo Muani this summer from Paris Saint-Germain, the Italian giants don’t appear to be done in the attacking department.

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