Yahoo News Aston Villa transfer twist can push Chelsea closer to £40m Jhon Duran deal
Aston Villa reportedly hold a 'concrete' interest in highly-rated striker Maximilian Beier as they enter a transfer race with potential for huge ramifications on Jhon Duran's future.
Unai Emery is aiming to upgrade his squad, with rumours in the opening weeks of the transfer window suggesting movement within Villa's goalscoring department to come. So far exit rumours have largely fuelled this, though now the club has been rumoured to want to make an exciting addition before the season's start.
According to Sky Germany, interest has been established in coveted TSG Hoffenheim striker Beier with information regarding the feasibility of a deal gathered over the past few days. The 21-year-old has been linked with a big move for some time now, especially now having made over 100 senior appearances at club level with 33 goals and 11 assists to his name.
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He is said to possess a €30m (£25.3m) release clause which will be active only during the summer 2024 transfer window, plus any buying club would have to pay salary and signing fees on top. When asked about his future, the striker - who is currently with the German national team - recently replied: "We can chat after the Euros."
Villa fighting to secure the signature of one of the continent's most highly-rated attacking prospects could also prove to be one of the most interesting battles of the summer, primarily because of who they would be rivalling.
Beier has been linked with plenty of Premier League clubs this year and last, though currently it is Chelsea who are said to hold the most definite interest alongside Villa. Just yesterday the German was named as an alternative to Duran in new manager Enzo Maresca's quest to recruit a new forward.
The Blues had already made their £40m interest in the Villa forward known before letting the matter simmer - not fizzling out entirely, according to updates, but on the back-burner as they carry out due diligence on a number of targets across Europe. Therefore if Villa were to get involved in a deal for Beier, they could find themselves narrowing down their rivals' striker options and push Duran even closer to that Stamford Bridge move.
