Aston Villa will rival Middlesbrough in the race for both Matt Targett and Yannick Bolasie, according to Graeme Bailey of The Gambling Times.
Southampton’s Targett has been much-coveted by Championship and Premier League clubs alike, with the left-back unlikely to see much first team action on the south coast this season, given club captain’s Ryan Bertrand’s stranglehold on the position.
Twitter: Aston Villa competing with Middlesbrough for Yannick Bolasie and Matt Targett – and they are ‘confident’ about land… https://t.co/SclKnFwPA0 (@GraemeBailey)
The 22-year-old spent last season on loan at Fulham, and the Whites were understood to be keen on signing Targett in a permanent capacity before eventually beating Villa to the signing of Bristol City full-back Joe Bryan.
Bolasie has fallen out of favour with new Everton boss Marco Silva, and the winger is unlikely to feature in the Portuguese boss’ side at Goodison Park. Despite his disappointing performances of late in the Premier League, the 29-year-old poses to create a physical mismatch against any opposing defender he may come up against.
Villa manager Steve Bruce is in the process of finalising his squad for the upcoming season, and a number of loan signings could be welcomed to Villa Park before the August 31 deadline.
