Aston Villa in talks to sign AC Milan midfielder after Fabrizio Romano claim on top target | OneFootball

Aston Villa are in talks to sign a midfielder from a European giant after Fabrizio Romano made a claim about one of the club’s top targets in the position.

Villa have been eager to strengthen the midfield all summer. While they have signed Joao Gomes from Wolves, they lost Youri Tielemans to Manchester United.

With Amadou Onana looking likely to be out for months, and Gomes himself having picked up an injury, Unai Emery is desperate to add to his midfield corps.

Joao Palhinha has been high on the radar, but Bayern Munich only want to sell while Villa are eager to land him on loan, and the Villans have moved onto other targets.

Insider Nicolo Schira reports they and Crystal Palace are racing to sign AC Milan midfielder Youssouf Fofana.

Talks are said to be in progress, though it’s not made clear if those talks are with Milan themselves or Fofana’s representatives.

Joao Palhinha deal unlikely for Aston Villa – Fabrizio Romano

That a deal to sign Palhinha from Bayern is unlikely has been reiterated in recent reports.

After Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl told Villa they could not “impose” on the club for the signing, Benfica began pressing to land the midfielder.

Transfer insider Romano has revealed the chances of a Premier League move now seem slim.

He said: “And for Palhinha there is now also Benfica pushing a lot, so maybe Palhinha is not returning to the Premier League.”

Indeed, former Fulham boss Marco Silva is at the helm at the Portuguese club, and is pushing hard to reunite with Palhinha.

Our friends at TEAMtalk have revealed that amid his desire to sign the 31-year-old, Benfica have offered him a four-year deal.

The proposal from Benfica, a return to Portugal and the opportunity to play under Silva again are all said to be major attractions for Palhinha.

While he’s not made his mind up on his next move yet, it’s looking good for the Portuguese club.

However, Palhinha was also known to have agreed personal terms with Villa, before the club were knocked back by Bayern.

As such, if Benfica can’t come to a club-to-club agreement, the same fate might befall that potential transfer.

Porto and former club Sporting CP have also held interest in Palhinha this summer, but if he’s to head back to Portugal, Benfica seem to be the frontrunners.