Aston Villa defender Jordan Amavi may be closing in on a move to Marseille.
According to RMC Sport, Aston Villa defender Jordan Amavi has held talks over the phone with Marseille sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta – and the two clubs remain in negotiations over a deal.
Amavi, 23, emerged as one of the top young defenders in France during his time with Nice, and his impressive displays saw Aston Villa splash the cash to sign him in the summer of 2015.
Whilst Amavi showed some promise going forward with his pace, he was a little suspect defensively in the early stages of his Premier League career, and he then suffered a horrendous knee injury in November 2015, ruling him out for the rest of the 2015-16 season.
Last term, Amavi made his return from injury, but he wasn’t able to recapture his best form, and Villa boss Steve Bruce appeared to signal his intentions by signing Neil Taylor to feature at left back.
Amavi saw a move to Sevilla fall through earlier this summer, but Villa are still keen to get him off the books, and RMC Sport report that the defender spoke to Marseille sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta over the phone on Monday about a possible move to the Stade Velodrome.
It’s claimed that talks between the two clubs are ongoing after Marseille offered a season-long loan deal with a purchase option of €7.5million (£6.8million), but Villa want that fee bumped up to €10million (£9million) in order to seal a deal.
Whilst Marseille do have Patrice Evra, he is now 36 years of age, and Marseille are seemingly lining up Amavi to be his eventual successor as their first-choice left back.
With Villa keen to raise funds by selling players, a loan with a view to buy may not be ideal, but letting Amavi join Marseille would still give manager Steve Bruce some room to manoeuvre in terms of wages.
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