Aston Villa negotiating to sign 20-year-old attacking phenom

Aston Villa have been one of the most proactive teams in the summer transfer window this year, as they are not content with coming in fourth last season in the Premier League; the Lions want even more.

With their Champions League debut on the horizon, Aston Villa are looking to stack up their roster, and their early returns are positive following a nifty 2-1 win over an improved West Ham side.

New blockbuster signing Amadou Onana looks like a star, and Aston Villa have high hopes for talents Jaden Philogene, Ian Maatsen, and Cameron Archer. Yet Villa still want to fortify their attack with more U23 standouts who can develop into potential world-class superstars for a perennial Champions League outfit.

The club’s latest transfer target is Samu Omorodion, whose shock blockbuster transfer to become Chelsea’s new No. 9 fell apart at the last second. Omorodion was supposed to go to London from Atletico Madrid for around 40 million euros.

Now, according to a report from Spanish paper El Desmarque’s Francisco Jose Jimenez, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid are in negotiations for the 20-year-old striker who spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Deportivo Alaves.

Per El Desmarque, Aston Villa are willing to spend up to 35 million euros for Samu Omorodion, who has a ridiculous 120 million euro release clause. But Atletico Madrid said they would only accept the clause to Chelsea…and then they took an offer that was one-third less.

Atletico Madrid spent upwards of 100 million euros on Premier League stars Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez, so Aston Villa, after missing out on Chelsea-bound former Atleti forward Joao Felix, could be seeing an opportunity to take advantage of Los Rojiblancos’ desire to raise funds.

Omorodion is far from a proven commodity, but he is a young gem at the striker position. It is hard to see both him and Jhon Duran having a long-term future behind Premier League Player of the Season candidate – and England national team hero – Ollie Watkins, but it wouldn’t be hard for Villa to sell a striker next summer.

A rare physical talent, Omorodion flashed that quality for Alaves last season with 8 goals. He does not seem to have a long-term future with Atleti after the Alvarez signing, so the negotiations between Monchi and Atleti will be worth watching closely.