Aston Villa reportedly see Brentford’s 15-goal Championship striker Maupay as the ideal replacement for Wolves-bound Tammy Abraham.
Aston Villa’s worst fears could be about to come true.
With 16 goals in 20 Championship starts, it goes almost without saying that Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham is absolutely central to Dean Smith’s hopes of leading the Midland giants back to the Premier League in 2019.
But it seems that Abraham is on his way out of Villa Park midway through the season with Wolverhampton Wanderers set to exercise the break clause in his contract.
According to Sky Sports, the England international could be a Wolves player by the time Nuno Espirito Santo’s side face Manchester City next Monday.
And, to add insult to injury, signing a replacement could be easier said than done. Sky add that Financial Fair Play is set to rear its ugly head again and limit Aston Villa to short-term loans rather than a big-money marquee signing.
This surely scuppers any hope Villa might have had of reuniting Smith with his former Brentford poacher Neal Maupay.
According to The Sun, Smith identified the 22-year-old Frenchman as the ideal successor for Abraham, having scored 15 Championship goals in a prolific 2018/19 campaign.
The report adds that Brentford want at least £6 million for Maupay, a fee that could be too rich for Villa unless they can sell a couple of fringe players before the window slams shut.
It makes absolutely no sense for The Bees, who are just six points above the drop zone, to loan their star man out after all.
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