Aston Villa have been very busy this summer, signing Phillipe Coutinho from Barcelona, Boubacar Kamara from Olympique Marseille and Diego Carlos from Sevilla, but Peter O’Rourke doesn’t believe they are done yet.
Steven Gerrard has been open about his desire to sign a defensive-midfielder, so O’Rourke is tipping Villa to return for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yves Bissouma – a player they wanted back in January.
He told Give Me Sport: “We all know Villa have held a long-term interest in Yves Bissouma. They tried to sign him in January, but Brighton managed to hold on to him.
“I would expect Villa to be considering a move again for him in the summer transfer window. If they were to get him and Kamara in the same window, I think we’d definitely see an improvement in that Villa midfield in general.”
Bissouma joined Brighton from LOSC Lille in 2018 and has made 124 appearances across the board, scoring six goals with three assists. The 25-year-old is regarded as a brilliant defensive midfielder, so it’s easy to see why Villa would be keen.
The Midlands outfit were disappointing defensively in 2021/22 but having a natural holding-midfielder should better protect the backline. The only issue is Bissouma’s £50m asking price.
Villa would have to break their transfer record to sign him, and they’re not the only side likely to make a move this summer either – Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have been linked in the past.
O’Rourke may be right that Villa test the waters for Bissouma, but it remains to be seen if they’ll agree a deal over the competition.
In other news, what’s the latest on Lovre Kalinic’s future at Aston Villa?
