Reported Aston Villa target Massimo Luongo snubbed Sherwood for QPR in 2015

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Championship giants Aston Villa want Massimo Luongo again – three years after he rejected them to sign for Queens Park Rangers from Swindon Town.

It seems that Aston Villa are trying to sign a player Tim Sherwood attempted to dress up in claret and blue three years ago.

According to Australian publication The World Game, Villa are keen on QPR talisman Massimo Luongo and are expected to make a move for him this summer if they navigate the play-offs and seal a return to the Premier League.

Luongo, a former Tottenham youngster who has earned 35 caps for Australia, has been one of the Championship’s most impressive midfielders this season.

An excellent passer capable of opening up a defence, the 25-year-old only needed to add goals to his game – and he has done that this season with six for QPR, making 2017/18 the joint most prolific campaign of his career.

But, interestingly, the Birmingham Mail points out that Luongo has been linked with Aston Villa in the past – and turned them down.

It is understood that Sherwood was keen to bring the 2015 Asian Cup winner to Villa Park three years ago, having watched Luongo blossom during his time in charge of Tottenham’s reserves. However the Swindon Town star chose QPR instead.

“Joining QPR is probably my best chance to play regularly, assuming that I impress and give them a reason to pick me,” he said back in 2015, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.

“With the players and resources they have at Villa, they could probably afford to buy a bigger squad and maybe opportunities may have been limited.”

Three years on, however, it will be interesting to see whether Luongo has similar concerns. After all, central midfield is arguably the strongest part of Steve Bruce’s squad.