By support

22nd May, 2017 | 2:05pm

Aston Villa confident of securing transfers of £19m duo - report

By Matt Farr

Aston Villa are confident they can secure big fees from the sales of Jordan Amavi and Jordan Veretout due to the growing interest in their services, according to a report.

The Express & Star claim that the senior figures at the Championship outfit are now ‘hopeful of recouping a significant portion’ of the transfer fees paid for the first-team duo this summer, as a bidding war looms.

Interest is said to have grown for the two players ahead of the summer transfer window, as both £9million signing Amavi and £10m man Veretout edge closer to being named on the Aston Villa exit pile amid Steve Bruce’s pending overhaul.

Villa Park chief Keith Wyness had earlier admitted that as many as 10 senior players could be set to quit the club this summer, and the French pair could become part of the cull.

Veretout has yet to feature under Bruce, having spent the duration of the campaign on loan at St. Etienne, where he has impressed, and he may not have a role to play upon his return to Aston Villa.

The Express and Star report that the French side are keen on extending the midfielder’s stay in Ligue 1, but they view Aston Villa’s £7million asking-price as steep.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, are reportedly interested in Amavi, and according to L’Equipe, have already opened talks with Villa over a potential move.

But due to the current number of sides that are said to be monitoring both players, Aston Villa are confident that they will see the potential finances of any deal increase until the saga reaches its climax.

Football Insider verdict

It has been made no secret that Aston Villa will be attempting to balance the books this summer. The club have made a large number of signings over the past year, and the club needs to offload a number of players if it is meet Financial Fair Play regulations. But for Veretout and Amavi, while they could both be useful squad players next season, they could also fetch large transfer fees – at least compared to the other names Villa may be looking to offload. Veretout is perhaps the more likely to quit given he has not yet had a role under Bruce, while Amavi could continue to see opportunities limited following the winter arrival of Neil Taylor. They’d be a wise choice to kick-off Bruce’s summer overhaul.

In other Aston Villa news, Tony Xia has made this Twitter transfer promise to fans.

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