Aston Villa can surely call their 2023/24 season a success. After Unai Emery became the manager in October 2022, he has overseen a huge transformation of a side that was destined for relegation under Steven Gerrard, to a team that has qualified for the Champions League ahead of next season.
Their fourth-place finish in the Premier League this season was Villa’s joint second-highest ever since the top flight was rebranded from the First Division to the competition we all know today in 1992.
They only bettered that in the inaugural season, 1992/93, with their fourth-place finish in 1995/96 the equal second-best.
This was largely thanks to the superb performances of Ollie Watkins, who scored 19 goals and registered 13 assists in 37 Premier League games, a tally which saw him win the playmaker award. As per Sofascore, his 32 combined goal involvements were only bettered by Cole Palmer, who scored and assisted 33 times for Chelsea last season.
With Villa set for an exciting campaign in 2024/25, it will be a big summer transfer window. There are already links of several incomings for the Villans, but also some outgoings, with one man potentially on his way out of Villa Park to join a giant of Italian football.
Aston Villa regular could depart
The player in question here is Villa’s Poland international right-back, Matty Cash. The former Nottingham Forest man was an important player under Unai Emery last term, but an exit from the Villans could be on the cards over the summer transfer window.
Indeed, that is according to a report from Gianluca Di Marzio, the esteemed Italian journalist. He reports contact between Italian giants AC Milan and Aston Villa for a potential transfer of Cash “have continued”, as the two clubs look to strike an agreement.
As per the report from Di Marzio, Villa are hoping to sell the Poland international for a fee of around £25m, which would represent almost £10m of profit for the right-back. They paid East Midlands club Forest £16m to acquire his services back in the summer window of 2020.
He could be the second player Villa sell to Italy this week, with Douglas Luiz set to join Juventus. That deal will also see midfielder Weston McKennie and former Chelsea academy player Samuel Iling-Junior go the other way, with Juve also paying £16.8m.
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ByAngus Sinclair Jun 11, 2024
