Aston Villa’s interest in Florian Thauvin is well-known, and this week there have been plenty of developments on that front.
We’ve found out that the winger will be available to purchase in January, but he will come at a price.
The former Newcastle man will reportedly be available for €32m (£28m) in the winter window, and while that would usually be a good price for a man who scored 16 goals in his last full season in Ligue 1, Aston Villa shouldn’t even be considering paying that price.
Thauvin is again finding his form, netting three goals and grabbing five assists so far this season in all competitions, but his personal situation means that £28m would be far too much to pay for the Frenchman.
The winger’s contract is up next summer, and he is has made it clear that he is thinking about leaving Marseille for free at the end of the season.
Usually, when a player is entering the final months of their contract, they are available at a cut-price fee, but it doesn’t seem like Villa are getting that much of a bargain with Thauvin.
The situation is only made worse when you realise that Villa are able to negotiate the terms of a free transfer with Thauvin in January as he’s playing abroad and that £28m fee they have been quoted, would be put to better use if it went towards his wages after an eventual free transfer.
Spending that much on Thauvin in January would perhaps be acceptable if Villa were in the midst of a relegation battle and they were desperate for reinforcements.
However, after the start to the season they’ve had, it looks incredibly unlikely that they’ll be in and around the bottom three by the end of the season.
Villa must remain patient in their pursuit of Thauvin.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
