Aston Villa ‘negotiating’ loan-to-buy signing of Chelsea ‘reject’ for January

Aston Villa are reportedly exploring the signing of Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for the upcoming January transfer window, though their ideal offer falls some way short of the Blues’ valuation.

Chelsea signed Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester for a reported fee of £30m on July 2. The 26-year-old had starred for Enzo Maresca during their time with the Foxes and a reunion at Stamford Bridge appeared to make perfect sense.

However, Dewsbury-Hall has largely been relegated to appearances in the cup competitions since arriving in west London. His three Premier League appearances so far have totalled just 43 minutes of action.

Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia have struck up an excellent partnership in Chelsea’s engine room. If either of that pair misses out, Enzo Fernandez is Maresca’s preferred replacement.

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Dewsbury-Hall is not in Chelsea’s long-term plans and as such, was labelled a Blues ‘reject.’ Accordingly, the club will now consider loaning or even selling the player outright in the January window.

That stance has reportedly alerted Aston Villa. It’s claimed Unai Emery’s side ‘are negotiating a loan with an option to buy.’

Chelsea are understood to be willing to accept that method of transfer so long as the option to buy is set at £30m – thus allowing Chelsea to recoup 100 percent of what they paid if it’s activated.

But for the time being, the report concluded Aston Villa are only proposing an option to buy worth approximately £18.2m. That figure would comprise £12.4m plus £5.8m in future add-ons.

READ MORE: The key contract details of every Chelsea first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…

Do Aston Villa need Dewsbury-Hall?

News of Aston Villa showing interest in Dewsbury-Hall may come as a surprise to many of the club’s fans.

Emery does not lack for options in the engine room at present, with Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, John McGinn, Ross Barkley, Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey all capable of playing in central midfield.

The opportunity to add the technically-gifted Dewsbury-Hall holds obvious appeal, especially if he can be signed for a knock-down fee.

Though in truth, the signing of Dewsbury-Hall does not appear to be one Aston Villa necessarily need to make.

Latest transfer news – Nkunku / Double Villa deal / Osimhen

In other news, The Telegraph claim Chelsea are prepared to sell Christopher Nkunku to Manchester United if able to recoup the full £52m they paid to RB Leipzig.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa are reportedly keen on securing a double deal for Real Betis duo Johnny Cardoso and Diego Llorente.

Villa’s interest in Cardoso could spark a reaction at Tottenham given Spurs have a priority option to buy the midfielder at season’s end.

Finally, Newcastle are reportedly set to be ‘offered’ Victor Osimhen’s services in the summer of 2025. Osimhen is currently loaned from Napoli to Galatasaray and his parent club will seek permanent exit solutions when the loan expires.