Aston Villa have shaped a strong start to the summer transfer window, but Steven Gerrard should now look to re-sign these former Villa Park players to further strengthen his squad.
The Villans have so far signed three new options with Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and now Ludwig Augustinsson moving to Birmingham. Gerrard also retained Philippe Coutinho for £17m and Robin Olsen for £3m after their half-season loans from Barcelona and Roma.
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Kamara has joined the Villans in a free transfer following his contract at Marseille expiring on June 30. Aston Villa also paid Sevilla £26m to sign Carlos, before returning to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to loan Augustinsson for £500k with a view to a permanent switch.
Gerrard remains keen to seal further arrivals, though, with the Aston Villa boss interested in Conor Gallagher of Chelsea, per Fabrizio Romano. The Villans head coach also likes Porto winger Otavio, as Mais Futebol claim Gerrard is prepared to bid £25m plus £4m in add-ons.
A raft of former Aston Villa players are also worth Gerrard re-signing as he strives to guide the Villa Park outfit into Europe. So, who could he now strive to take back to Birmingham?
Aston Villa should re-sign former player Traore of Wolves
Gerrard can find an alternative wide option to Porto midfielder Otavio by re-signing former Aston Villa player Adama Traore. The Daily Mail report Wolves are now open to offers for the Spaniard this summer after he returned to Molineux from a loan spell with Barcelona.
The Blaugrana hired Traore for the latter half of last season but elected against purchasing the 26-year-old. Wolves had agreed to include a £29m clause as part of his January switch. Yet Bruno Lage now faces a lower asking price as Traore is in the final year of his contract.
Traore had a strong start to his return to Catalunya with two assists in his first two La Liga appearances. The eight-cap international also created twice to beat Napoli in the Europa League. However, he would not add any further assists or any goals over 17 total outings.
Aston Villa should re-sign Barkley with Chelsea set to sell former loan player
Aston Villa should look to re-sign Ross Barkley with Chelsea keen to sell the Villans’ former loan player this summer. That’s according to the Mirror, who report Thomas Tuchel wants the Stamford Bridge outfit to find a suitor for the Blues’ £15m arrival from Everton in 2018.
Barkley was only a bit-part presence in Tuchel’s plans last season, and he is unlikely to find a greater role. The 28-year-old made just 14 appearances across all competitions last term, including just six Premier league outings for a combined 175 minutes from one single start.
He gave a reminder of his ability during a brief cameo on the final day by scoring Chelsea’s late winner against Watford. Barkley headed home Reece James’ cross in the 91st-minute, and could be sold on the cheap with the 33-cap England ace in the last year of his contract.
Gerrard should rival Everton to re-sign former Aston Villa player Veretout
Gerrard should look to rival Everton to re-sign former Aston Villa player Jordan Veretout of Roma this summer. Calciomercato note the Toffees are interested in the France midfielder but face fighting AC Milan and Marseille as his future will be far from the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma will allow Veretout to leave the Serie A side for no less than £12.5m as he is under contract until 2024. But the five-cap international fell out of favour last season, with Jose Mourinho only starting him in eight of his 18 Italian top-flight appearances through 2022.
Veretout had enjoyed a strong run as a first-team mainstay prior to the turn of the year, though. The 29-year-old offered each of his four goals for the campaign and five of eight assists from 18 appearances. He opened each game from a potential 19 league matches.
Gueye return can see Gerrard hand Kamara greater freedom in midfield
Aston Villa signed Kamara from Marseille after the Frenchman emerged as one of the best ball-winning midfielders in Ligue 1. But Birmingham Live note Gerrard does not strictly see the 22-year-old playing as a deep-lying holding anchor and may give him greater freedoms.
So, to let Kamara play further up the field, Gerrard should try to re-sign former Aston Villa player Idrissa Gana Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain. The Senegal star switched Villa Park for Goodison Park and Everton in 2016 for £7m, before heading to PSG for £30m in 2019.
Gueye was one of the Premier League’s best ball-winning midfielders through his time on Merseyside. He could now offer Gerrard his defensive excellence, along with title-winning experience from his Paris spell, as The Athletic note he is one of many PSG are keen to sell.
Gerrard should break the bank to bring Abraham back to Birmingham
Tammy Abraham returning to Aston Villa following his loan move from Chelsea in 2018/19 would now be an aspirational transfer. Gerrard would face having to break the bank to buy the 11-cap England striker, as the Daily Mail claim Roma value him at £100m this summer.
The Giallorossi paid Chelsea £34m to sign Abraham last summer, whilst giving the 24-year-old a €6m-a-season (£97k-a/w) net wage over a five-year contract. The Blues also obtained a buyback clause worth £68m, which only becomes active at the end of the 2022/23 term.
Gerrard is considering launching a move for Aston Villa to re-sign their former loan player, though. 90min report the Villans have approached intermediaries to discuss a transfer for the attacker after he scored 26 and created five goals over 53 games for Roma last season.
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