Aston Villa going ALL IN on title charge as Tammy Abraham signs and €50m star next | OneFootball

England striker Tammy Abraham has completed an £18.25million return to Aston Villa from Turkish giants Besiktas, taking a pay cut in the process, while Unai Emery is also close to bolstering an already strong midfield at Villa Park.

The 28-year-old England forward has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at the Premier League title challengers, as he moves back to the Premier League for the first time since joining Roma back in 2021.

Abraham had been on loan at Besiktas from Roma, but the Turkish side activated their buy option on Monday for £11m, so Aston Villa have ended up paying the fee of €21m (£18.25m) to them instead.

Emery has been on the hunt for more competition for Ollie Watkins ever since Jhon Duran was offloaded to the Saudi Pro League for big money a year ago.

That search has now been concluded with the re-signing of Abraham, who had a loan spell with Villa back in 2018/19 as he helped earn the club promotion from the Championship.

Teenager Villa midfielder Yasin Ozcan, who has been on loan at Anderlecht this season, is joining Besiktas as part of the deal.

Abraham is now set to feature against Brentford on Sunday, although he is not registered to play in Thursday’s Europa League clash with Red Bull Salzburg.

He’s not the only high-profile signing Villa are expected to make this week, with Douglas Luiz also set to seal his return to the club.

The 27-year-old Brazil international is currently on loan at Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest from Juventus, but he is set to leave the City Ground before Monday’s transfer deadline and head back to Villa Park after a Chelsea approach was snubbed.

Luiz’s return is very much a case of Emery building on a strength, with Villa’s midfield arguably one of the strongest in the English top flight.

The moves come as Villa sit third in the Premier League table and are very much in the title fight, as they sit just four points behind leaders Arsenal with 15 games remaining in the season.