Aston Villa have reportedly maintained an interest in Romelu Lukaku and have seemingly made an offer close to Chelsea’s asking price. 

According to Corriere dello Sport via Sport Witness, Aston Villa are keen on Romelu Lukaku and have made a sizeable offer close to Chelsea’s asking price. Whether they are the Belgian’s preferred choice remains a doubt, as Napoli’s offer is not close to what the Blues want for the beleaguered striker.

                                                          Aston Villa still chasing Romelu Lukaku?

Chelsea still have a Romelu Lukaku-shaped hole to address in their squad, and there have not been too much progress made in a bid to offload him. The Belgian reportedly wants to join Napoli, and while the Italians are also keen on landing him, any deal will depend on the departure of Victor Osimhen. 

Napoli have thought about including Osimhen in negotiations with Chelsea for Lukaku, although they have not managed to make any headway. Lukaku is eager to reunite with his former manager, Antonio Conte, and the feeling is mutual for the Italian, although a deal is nowhere near close. 

There were rumours earlier of Aston Villa potetially looking at Lukaku’s situation, with follow-up stories claiming Lukaku rejected a potential approach from Unai Emery’s side. The report suggests Villa had made an offer close to Chelsea’s asking price and insists there’s a release clause, which the club were ready to trigger. 

Napoli’s offer was reportedly £10 million short of Chelsea’s asking rate, which would suggest that Aston Villa’s offer would bring substantially more. However, there are doubts whether Emery has a credible interest, although they are one club in the Belgian’s chase that could offer Champions League football.

Villa’s interest used to pressure Napoli?

Napoli are unlikely to sign Lukaku without selling Osimhen, and that has been clear with the club. They may not be in a position to pay both these strikers huge wages and will have to balance their act by offloading the Nigerian. Hence, there’s an impasse in the deal, with Conte keen on the striker who scored 21 goals for Roma last season. 

His agents might also be using Villa’s reported interest as a tactic to pressure Napoli to act quickly for the striker. However, Lukaku’s public stance might help Conte’s club to take things easy and make the move when the time is right. 

Sporting CP are showing no signs of accepting anything less than the €80 million release clause for Aston Villa-linked Pedro Goncalves. 

According to O Jogo via Sport Witness, Aston Villa might have to pay the entire €80 million release clause in Pedro Goncalves’s contract to land the attacker. Unai Emery is eager to bolster his attacking options before the transfer window shuts, as they might look for a way to reduce the asking price drastically. 

Aston Villa learn Pedro Goncalves’s asking price

Aston Villa are still looking to bolster their attack in this window and could have many different profiles of players on their list. Unai Emery wants more fluidity in his game. They have lost the likes of Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby but have since made some exciting additions. 

The departure of Diaby leaves them short on quality in the wide areas, although in terms of numbers, they have signed Jaden Philogene from Hull City. Emery might look at another player on the wings who can generate output. 

Villa had shown an interest in Pedro Goncalves back in June, but they were busy then with outgoings to balance their act with PSR. Now, they might have revived their chase of the winger who had 35 goals and assists for Sporting CP last season on their way to the Portuguese league title. 

Sporting CP are reluctant to lose the player considered extremely crucial by Ruben Amorim and they are currently asking for his entire €80 million release clause. As things stand, they will stick to that asking rate, although further explorations might see the Portuguese club potentially give in to the market demand. 

Aston Villa could sign Goncalves for €50 million?

The report also claimed that further negotiations and the player’s desire might play a significant role. Goncalves might have had a good season with 35 goals and assists for Sporting CP, but he might use it as an opportunity to make a big career move, p[probably to the Premier League. 

He also fears that Sporting CP’s failure to reduce his asking rate might result in him never getting the ‘contract of his life’ and could see the opportunity wasted. Hence, should a club like Aston Villa come in with an approach and the player asks to leave, Sporting might even sell him for €50 million, which would still represent a massive profit on their €13.5 million investment in the attacker four years ago.