Aston Villa loaned out Conor Hourihane to Swansea City for the rest of the season and transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has tweeted that they’re ‘getting closer’ to signing Morgan Sanson as his replacement.
The agreement for Arkadiusz Milik from Napoli to OM is now ‘imminent’. Last details then the deal will be announced – loan with obligation to buy… and Sanson is getting closer to Aston Villa. 🔵 #OM #AVFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2021
However, France Football (via Get French Football News) reported on Wednesday that Villa’s opening offer to Marseille was rejected and described as “pathetic” by their manager Andres Villas-Boas.
The Ligue 1 side want €18m (£15.92m) for Sanson but Villa’s first bid was €7m (£6.2m) plus €2m (£1.77m) in bonuses. It is natural for buying clubs to start low to negotiate the asking price downward, but Villas-Boas was irked by the offer and said: “We had a very, very weak offer from Aston Villa which we turned down. It was pathetic.”
Villas-Boas on Aston Villa's offer for Morgan Sanson cont: "It was pathetic."
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 20, 2021
Sanson has made 19 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals and supplying three assists. The 26-year-old averages either a tackle (21) or interception (nine) every 28 minutes (WhoScored), marking him out as a dogged midfielder in the mould of Douglas Luiz and John McGinn.
Although Sanson is a regular at Marseille, Villas-Boas admitted the player could be granted a departure this month, saying: “It is possible something could happen”. Villa will have to raise their offer to stand a chance of landing his signature, though.
READ ASTON VILLA VERDICT
Marseille are willing to sell the Frenchman because they are haemorrhaging money.
Get French Football News reported in March 2020 that the Ligue 1 outfit had incurred €91m (£80.6m) in losses. They broke even for incomings and outgoings in 2019/20 and had just a £4.5m net spent this season, so they need to generate funds somehow.
That being said, Marseille won’t allow Villa to take unfair advantage when it comes to signing Sanson as his deal at the Stade Vélodrome has another 18 months to run.
