Aston Villa will reportedly battle Burnley for Crystal Palace’s James McArthur, who could be available for far less than you’d expect.
In an era where Kyle Walker can become the most expensive defender in the history of the world, you can consider yourself extremely fortunate if you manage to sign a player for his accurate market value.
According to The Sun (page 61, 18th July), Crystal Palace may be willing to let James McArthur leave for just £2 million. For that fee, the Scottish midfielder would be, pound-for-pound, one of the most astute deals of the entire summer window.
McAthur netted five league goals last season
He’s an established Premier League performer after all, making well over 100 appearances in the top flight for Wigan Athletic and Palace since arriving in England from Hamilton Academical in 2010. McArthur has also won 28 caps for Scotland and has just come off the back of the most prolific season of his career in England, netting five times for Palace.
Therefore, it’s little surprise that there is plenty of interest in the tenacious midfielder, The Sun adding that Aston Villa are challenging Burnley for his signature.
Whether McArthur would be willing to drop down to the Championship remains to be seen. However, if Villa can land the 29-year-old for as little as £2 million, they would be pulling off a deal that would make most of their second tier rivals green with envy.
Worth every penny
When you consider that Middlesbrough paid £5 million for Jonny Howson (The Sun), Wolves a club-record £15.8 million for Ruben Neves (BBC), it would make Villa’s bargain deal look even more impressive.
The problem, however, is whether they can even pay such a fee. They still need to sell before they can buy this summer, with John Terry and Sam Johnstone their only arrivals so far on a free transfer and a season-long loan respectively. Reports suggest that the likes of Ross McCormack and Tommy Elphick may be on their way sooner rather than later though, giving Villa hope that they have the funds to land McArthur this summer.
On the upside, the £2 million price-tag means McArthur is well within Villa’s price range.
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