Aston Villa lodge enquiry over £50m sensation

Aston Villa have already signed Donyell Malen this month, while selling Jaden Philogene to Ipswich for a fee in the region of £20m.

It appears as though Unai Emery is set to lose Jhon Duran too, as Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr, with a fee of £65m being mentioned, although this has not been confirmed.

This development could see Villa dive back into the market in order to make another signing before Monday’s deadline.

Aston Villa’s bid to replace Duran

According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa are in the market for a new striker due to Duran’s imminent departure from the club, with the Midlands side among a raft of teams to have made their interest known in Bayern Munich star, Mathys Tel.

As Romano relayed, the Villans are said to have enquired about signing the wantaway Frenchman after making contact in recent days, with the race now on to see just who will win the battle for his signature.

If a permanent deal were to happen, the Bavarian giants would be looking for a fee of around £50m for any deal to take place, such is the current verbal agreement with Tottenham Hotspur.

It would certainly be an interesting signing, adding some star power to Emery’s side. Could he be an even bigger superstar than Morgan Rogers?

How Mathys Tel compares to Morgan Rogers

Rogers scored a stunning Champions League hat-trick in midweek as the club defeated Celtic 4-2, and he has been on fire this term.

In 31 games, he has scored ten goals and grabbed five assists, becoming one of Emery’s key men in the process.

In Europe’s premier club competition, the Englishman even ranks in the top 20% for non-penalty goals (0.39) and in the top 8% for successful take-ons (3.41) per 90, showing how important he has been in the final third.

Tel joined Bayern from Rennes in 2022, making 69 appearances during his first two seasons, netting 16 times while chipping in with six assists.

Aged just 19, the Frenchman has an extraordinary future in the game, but minutes have been hard to come by this campaign. Indeed, he has played only 458 minutes in all competitions, failing to find the back of the net.

German reporter Florian Plettenberg hailed the teenager as an “unbelievable talent” last year and there is no doubting his abilities in the final third, despite struggling to make much of an impression throughout the current season.

In the Bundesliga last campaign, Tel created six big chances, averaged 0.4 key passes and succeeded with 1.2 dribbles per match – a success rate of 56% – to emerge as one of the most talented youngsters at the club.

The forward even ranked in the top 10% for non-penalty goals, total shots, assists, successful take-ons, touches in the attacking penalty area and progressive passes received during the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign, demonstrating how effective he truly was in the final third.

He is on the path to superstar status, without a shadow of a doubt. If he makes the move to Villa, it could give him the platform to play more regularly and outperform Rogers in the process.

Still only 19 – three years younger than Rogers – and having still shown glimpses of his talent at an elite outfit like Bayern, the sky is seemingly the limit for the teenager.

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