‘Aston Villa plot signing of second Marcus Rashford’ – Unai Emery gives green light
Aston Villa are plotting a move to sign Chelsea winger Noni Madueke in the summer transfer window, according to their former scout.
Mick Brown, who also worked as the chief scout at Man United and Blackburn and remains very well-connected at his former clubs, exclusively told Football Insider that Unai Emery wants to inject some pace into his side this summer.
This comes after the success of Marcus Rashford during his loan spell at Villa Park – something they are keen to replicate in the upcoming window.
Madueke, meanwhile, is believed to be open to a move away from Stamford Bridge to a side where he would play more regular first-team football.
He made his England debut under Lee Carsley earlier this season, and now wants to become a regular for his country under Thomas Tuchel.
The 23-year-old has made 21 starts across all competitions under Enzo Maresca this season, but there is a growing feeling he could be set to leave Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa target Noni Madueke deal in summer transfer twist
Brown told Football Insider in February that Villa will accept offers for Leon Bailey this summer and plan to replace him with a new option on the right-hand side.
The former scout, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted that the Chelsea winger would be the ideal option for Villa if he is available.
“He’s a player with undoubted talent and promise,” he told Football Insider.
“But he’s struggled to nail down a consistent place in that Chelsea team, which is a surprise to me.
“He’s a player who always wants to run at full-backs and get into the space behind them.
“My criticism of Aston Villa is that they can look a bit pedestrian at times – Marcus Rashford has come in and injected a bit of pace on the left-hand side.
“After how well he’s done so far, Unai Emery wants to replicate that with Madueke.
“He would give them a new option with that pace and dynamism down that right wing which I think is key to them making progress.
“It’s an option they’ve been looking at and one I think they’ll go after.”
Marcus Rashford permanent deal hits stumbling block
Rashford’s success since joining on loan from Man United in January has not gone unnoticed at Villa Park, and plans are being put in place for a permanent deal.
However, Football Insider revealed on 31 March that Villa’s Rashford plans have hit a stumbling block as any deal would cost around £130million in total.
There is a £40million option to buy in his contract, but his £350,000 weekly wage would cost Villa or any other buyer a huge fee across a potential five-year deal.
This comes after the 27-year-old opened his Villa goalscoring account with two strikes against Preston North End to send his side to Wembley.
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