Aston Villa may now be a step closer to signing 'one of the best' midfield talents around

Aston Villa have been heavily linked with Matteo Guendouzi in recent months.

In January, 90Min claimed that a £44m bid was in the pipeline from Unai Emery’s Villans.

Villa didn’t manage to get a deal over the line, however, and Guendouzi ended up staying put at Marseille.

Earlier this month, the former Arsenal man explained how he wanted to see the campaign out at his current club.

“It’s true that I had offers this winter, a few proposals from clubs,” he told RMC Sport.

“But I didn’t feel like leaving. I wanted to finish the season.”

Now, Villa will surely fancy their chances of bringing Guendouzi to Villa Park this summer.

With the Villans pushing for Europe, perhaps even the Champions League, they will have significant pull.

Not only that, but things seem to be going from bad to worse for Guendouzi at his current club.

‘Adventure seems to be coming to an end’

Last week, RMC Sport claimed the midfielder ‘will be sold’ by the French side this summer.

Apparently, Guendouzi is not in their plans for next season.

La Provence – via Le10Sport and Sport Witness – has now spoken of a ‘conflict’ that broke out over Guendouzi’s lack of game time.

The 24-year-old did not feature in Marseille’s Ligue 1 meeting with Lyon at the weekend.

Guendouzi reportedly asked for a meeting with Marseille director Javier Ribalta to speak about his dissatisfaction.

It’s said the club could try to sell him ‘to a Premier League club’ as his ‘adventure seems to be coming to an end’.

The report did not name Aston Villa. Indeed, Newcastle are reportedly also in the race for Guendouzi.

Nonetheless, all the signs seem to be pointing to Villa having a fairly easy job on their hands if they want to sign him.

Guendouzi was fantastic under Emery at Arsenal.

He played 66 times under the Spaniard – 48 of those coming in his first season in English football – when he was still a teenager.

While things didn’t work out for Guendouzi at Arsenal, he has matured and developed at Marseille.

Indeed, he been tipped to become ‘one of the best midfielders’ around.

And with reports suggesting Guendouzi has a £22million price tag, he wouldn’t break the bank for Villa either.