By Wayne Veysey

3rd May, 2021 | 8:00am

Sources: Aston Villa set aside huge sum to beat Wolves and Leicester to Abraham

Aston Villa are the favourites to sign Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham this summer, Football Insider has been told.

The Midlands giants face competition from Wolves and Leicester City for the England international going into the summer window.

A Villa source has told Football Insider that the club have set aside £40million for Abraham as they prepare to lay the groundwork for their pursuit.

Dean Smith’s side are planning to spend big this summer and would be willing to meet Chelsea’s asking price for Abraham.

That makes them the early favourites for the forward, whose future at Stamford Bridge is up in the air.

Abraham is expected to be one of the most in-demand Premier League players going into the summer.

He has had only 17 minutes as a substitute in Chelsea’s last nine Premier League matches and was left out of the squad against Brighton two weeks ago despite being fully fit.

Abraham has a contract that runs until 2023 but talks over an extension have failed to result in an agreement.

Chelsea may yet return to the negotiating table and offer improved terms if they do not receive offers for him that match their valuation.

Villa are in the market to bring in two wide forwards this summer, as revealed by this site last month, as they prepare for another major recruitment drive.

One of their top targets is Burnley winger Dwight McNeil even though he signed a new contract last October.

Ollie Watkins could be pushed out wide if Abraham is signed, although such is the ambition of owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris, they may yet sign a centre-forward and two wide men.

In other news, Aston Villa have set sights on re-signing another star in addition to Abraham as they line up move for 23-year-old.