Aston Villa: NSWE still eyeing move for Matteo Guendouzi

Aston Villa remain interested in signing Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi in the summer transfer window, according to a new update.

Have Villa been linked with Guendouzi?

The £42,000-a-week Frenchman has been linked with a move to Villa Park a number of times in the past year or so, with Unai Emery of course managing the player back when he was in charge of Arsenal.

Guendouzi was a regular for Marseille throughout the 2022/23 season, making 33 appearances in Ligue 1 – admittedly, only 25 of those were starts – and he also featured for 79 minutes of action for France at the 2022 World Cup.

The former Arsenal man’s current deal runs until the summer of 2025, meaning Marseille are slowly running out of time to receive the highest possible amount of money for his services. For that reason, it could be that they sanction a move in the upcoming transfer window, with the player himself potentially wanting a fresh challenge, too.

It looks as though the 24-year-old is still firmly on Villa’s radar, with a new update emerging that suggests his future could lie back in the Premier League.

What’s the latest transfer news on Guendouzi?

Guendouzi has started to “ask questions” about his future, following what ended up being an up-and-down season for him, having only completed one full 90 minutes in April, May and June combined.

That being said, the report also states that Marseille “don’t seem to be ready to close the door” when it comes to selling him, but Villa are “ready to welcome” him to the club, as are Newcastle United, Juventus and Inter Milan.

Guendouzi could be a strong signing by Villa, not coming in as a definite starter every week but providing much-needed competition for places, as Emery’s side prepare to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League next season.

He has proven Premier League experience, having played 57 times in the competition during his Arsenal days, and he has also been hailed as “fantastic” by Gary Neville. At 24, he remains a young footballer who should only continue to develop in the coming years, and he would come in as a younger alternative to someone like John McGinn, easing his workload across four different competitions in the process.

An 88.6% pass completion rate in the Champions League in 2022/23 highlights Guendouzi’s technical ability, and he also accomplished in a defensive sense, averaging 1.2 tackles per game in Ligue 1.