Sources: Aston Villa pushing hard to sign Cantwell as recruitment drive intensifies
Aston Villa are keen to make Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell their next big-money signing, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
The Premier League club made Danny Ings their fourth summer signing last night after landing Leon Bailey earlier in the day.
A Villa source has told Football Insider that the club are working on a deal for Cantwell to compensate for the Jack Grealish loss.
This site revealed late last month that the Midlands giants were in advanced talks to land the 23-year-old.
Discussions are ongoing over Villa paying a sizeable fee for Cantwell.
The playmaker is into the last 12 months of his contract at Carrow Road and has rebuffed attempts to extend it.
The Villans' interest comes as Grealish closes in on a mega-money move to Manchester City.
As revealed by Football Insider on Wednesday (August 4th), the 25-year-old is set to undergo the necessary medical tests and finalise paperwork ahead of the weekend.
However, City are set to pay only an initial £75million, with another £25million made up of performance-related add-ons.
Villa have already gone about strengthening in the attacking midfield positions with the capture of Emi Buendia from Norwich.
As detailed by this site, the total cost of the deal will be at least £57million.
That includes £33million in transfer fees and a basic wage of around £75,000-a-week.
Dean Smith's men are now hopeful of bringing the Argentine's old teammate Cantwell to Villa Park.
He has played 102 times for Norwich, primarily on the left-hand side of the midfield or attacking three.
The playmaker scored six goals and contributed two assists in 37 Premier League games during the 2019/20 campaign.