Aston Villa are reportedly willing to pay Nantes £9m and include goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic in a deal for long-term target Valentin Rongier this summer.
According to reports in the Croatian media, cited by the Birmingham Mail, Villa are willing to allow Kalinic to head to France in a bid to tempt the Ligue 1 side into selling the highly-rated midfielder.
Kalinic made the move to the Midlands in January from Belgian side Gent in a deal worth £5m, however, the towering keeper made just eight appearances last season before being dropped by manager Dean Smith in favour of Jed Steer.
Smith is expected to be in the market for a new number one this summer, with Stoke’s Jack Butland a reported target.
Villa have shown a real interest in Rongier in recent months following an impressive individual campaign in France.
The 24-year-old is seen as a perfect fit in Smith’s system after scoring four times and providing five assists in 36 Ligue 1 games.
And with current Nantes boss Vahid Halilhodzic aware of Kalinic’s qualities, an ambitious player-plus-cash deal could well pay off this summer.
