Exclusive: Aston Villa make move to sign West Brom 28-yr-old

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Published on:

30 Jul 2019, 5:11 am

EXCLUSIVE By Pete O'Rourke

Aston Villa have made a move to sign West Brom winger Matt Phillips, Football Insider understands.

The Baggies are facing a fight to keep hold of the 28-year-old before next month's transfer deadline after failing to win promotion back to the Premier League last season.

A Villa source has told Football Insider that the club have turned their attention to Phillips despite signing 10 players already this window and committing to an 11th as they finalise the £11million capture of Marvelous Nakamba from Brugge.

Phillips is entering the final year of his contract at the Hawthorns and West Brom could be forced to cash in on him rather than risk allowing him to run down his contract.

This has provided an opening for Villa, who are set to take their summer spending beyond the £125million mark if they finalise the capture of Nakamba.

Phillips figures highly on their list of targets as he has extensive Premier League experience and is a proven scorer and creator of goals at that level.

The Scotland international would be keen on a move back to the Premier League if one of his suitors meet West Brom's asking price for his services.

West Brom managed to fend off interest in Phillips in the last two transfer windows, but they are bracing themselves for an offer from Villa before the transfer window closes on August 8.

In other Aston Villa news, it can be REVEALED that the club are working on three big-money signings.

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Aston Villa