Premier League newcomers Aston Villa could raid Ligue 1 Nantes with Southampton also keen on a player Claudio Ranieri raved about.
Aston Villa are looking to commemorate their return to the Premier League by signing Nantes’ all-action midfielder Valentin Rongier, though LeFoot claims that they will face competition from Southampton.
A one-club man who has made almost 150 appearances for The Canaries, Rongier’s 14-year association with the Ligue 1 outfit looks set to come to an end this summer as he prepares to take the next step in a promising career.
And he is not short of offers after a superb season in which he produced four goals and seven assists for a Nantes side who struggled to a mid-table finish.
LeFoot states that newly promoted Aston Villa and Southampton want to take Rongier across the channel with Nantes expected to listen to offers worth around £13.2 million.
Such a fee would make the 24-year-old Frenchman the third most expensive player in Aston Villa’s history, behind former England internationals Darren Bent and James Milner.
Rongier, who Lyon have apparently chosen as the ideal successor to coveted enforcer Tanguy Ndombele, made his mark on the Nantes’ first team during Claudio Ranieri’s spell in charge during 2017/18. And the former Leicester City boss even claimed that Rongier could be something of a new Marco Verratti.
“In 2 or 3 years, he can play anywhere, in my opinion. He will not be inferior to the midfielders of Paris Saint Germain, like Verratti,” Ranieri told LFP.
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