Notts County set to beat Sheffield Wednesday to Aston Villa transfer deal | OneFootball

Notts County are set to beat Sheffield Wednesday to a deal involving Aston Villa, with the League One side eyeing a deal similar to Jack Grealish...

Following promotion from League Two, Notts County are back in League One and set to face the likes of Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday after their relegations from the Championship.

Notts County won't want to simply make up the numbers in League One, with eight signings made already to bolster Martin Paterson's ranks. They haven't played third tier football since 2015, even going down to the National League for four seasons in that time.

After finishing 20th in 2013/14, Notts were relegated in 21st a year later. During the campaign they finished 20th, they had some exciting young players on their books, including future England international Jack Grealish.

The attacking midfielder was on loan from Aston Villa, but could County be about to repeat the trick and sign a similar profile of player from the Premier League outfit? Sheffield Wednesday have registered interest but no deal has materialised between the two clubs.

Notts County set to seal deal for Aston Villa ace similar to Jack Grealish

Like Notts, Wednesday have been extremely active in the market this summer. Nine new players have been signed by David Storch and co. following their takeover of the club, with the Owls looking to bounce back up at the first time of asking.

Sheffield Wednesday have signed Louie Barry and Sil Swinkels from Villa already this summer, but they were also eyeing a third deal up until recently. Aston Villa's Tommi O'Reilly emerged as a serious target for Wednesday recently.

O'Reilly is now in talks to join Notts County on loan instead. He was close to moving to Sheffield Wednesday last week but it was decided against following discussions.

That's according to Jacob Tanswell of The Athletic, but there has been plenty of League One interest in the 22-year-old this summer. Championship side Portsmouth, as well as Oxford United and Huddersfield Town have all eyed O'Reilly.

He had a loan with MK Dons in League Two not long ago, scoring once in 16 matches. But it's been with Crewe Alexandra in 2025/26 where he has truly shone. In 49 appearances in all competitions, O'Reilly notched seven goals and 14 assists last term.

His last loan in Leagaue One with Shrewsbury Town perhaps came too early, with O'Reilly hitting three assists in 18 matches. He featured in both league matches against Notts last term, albeit failed to get amongst the goals or assists in either fixture.

How Notts County and Aston Villa fans are reacting to Tommi O'Reilly transfer talk

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Plenty of fans are already having their say on this deal on X (formerly Twitter), with Notts supporters particularly impressed at the talk of the signing.

A Villa fan appeared confused at the terms, adding: "I like O'Reilly a lot but at 22 its surely time to sell."