Aston Villa are reportedly interested in signing Watford midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah before deadline day.
In October, England manager Gareth Southgate made the surprise decision of calling up Watford’s Nathaniel Chalobah to the national squad for the first time.
Southgate’s decision was a surprise to many because, at the time, he had only played four minutes of Premier League football for Javi Gracia’s side following his return from injury in the summer.
Sky Sports report that the 24-year-old is now a transfer target for Championship side Aston Villa, who are hoping to sign him up before the window shuts on Thursday evening.
Back in October, Southgate defended his choice of calling up the youngster to his squad because he had faith in the quality he possesses.
These were Southgate’s previous comments on Villa’s reported target:
“Nat has more youth caps bar perhaps James Milner, he trained with us in the summer,” said Southgate, as quoted by the Watford Observer. “We know the qualities he has.
“It’s maybe a bit early for him physically, but to come and train with us, we believe he can have an impact in the future.”
At that time, Chalobah did go onto make his Three Lions debut as he came on as a late substitute during England’s dramatic win against Spain in the UEFA Nations League.
Nonetheless, over the course of this season, he has only featured in six league games for his side and has started only six matches in all competitions during this campaign, according to transfermarkt.
If the former Chelsea man does decide to move to Villa Park then he will re-join a number of familiar faces.
Chelsea legend John Terry is on the coaching staff, while Tammy Abraham is on loan from Stamford Bridge and he would have played with Jack Grealish at the England youth levels.
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