‘Keep An Eye On’ – Aston Villa And Newcastle United Namechecked For Bosnia Star | OneFootball

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Aston Villa and Newcastle United have been namechecked as clubs to ‘keep an eye on’ in the chase to sign Bosnia World Cup star Kerim Alajbegovic.

The Cologne-born attacker came through the youth ranks at his local giants 1. FC Koln before continuing his development with Bayer Leverkusen, where he spent four years in the club’s academy.

Bayer Leverkusen sanctioned Alajbegovic’s move to Red Bull Salzburg in July 2025 and the Bosnian talent has since impressed in Austria, registering 17 goal contributions in 44 appearances across all competitions.

However, it was his standout display against Italy in Bosnia’s World Cup qualifier final that truly put him on the transfer radar of several clubs.

The 18-year-old impressed throughout the contest before confidently converting Bosnia’s penultimate penalty in the shootout, sending Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way.

There is serious interest in the winger this summer, powered even further by his displays at the World Cup, where he scored a superb goal in Bosnia’s 3-1 group stage win over Qatar.

Alajbegovic has been taken back to Leverkusen this summer, by use of a buy-back clause, but he could still be sold this summer.

AC Milan are hugely keen on landing the teenager, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic even talking him up, but Aston Villa and Newcastle are concrete rivals for his signature.

The Premier League pair have been namechecked by Italian journalist Claudio Raimondi, who spoke on Italia Uno (via Milan News), with the English sides amongst those to ‘keep an eye on’.

AC Milan ‘will make an attempt’ for Alajbegovic, who is also drawing interest from Atalanta and Roma.

It has been suggested that the Bosnian talent will cost around €22m.

It remains to be seen who makes whether the Villains or the Magpies will be able to secure the signature of the Bosnian talent amid stiff competition.

Aston Villa are keen to strengthen their wide options and have been looking at a host of targets, including Roma’s Matias Soule.

For Newcastle, the summer is potentially crucial in terms of a rebuild, with Anthony Gordon having already been sold and the possibility that Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes will follow them out of the door a live one.