Amid an incredibly busy summer of incomings, Aston Villa are now reportedly negotiating a deal that would see another fresh face arrive in a move that would also see Lucas Digne depart.

Aston Villa transfer news

The Villans have put their new-found Champions League status to good use in recent months, convincing the likes of Amadou Oana and Ian Maatsen to complete impressive moves to the Midlands. Maatsen's arrival particularly strengthens Unai Emery's left-hand side, with both Alex Moreno and Lucas Digne now 31 years old and arguably edging past the peak of their powers.

Imagine him & Watkins: Aston Villa offered chance to sign £34m CF

He nearly joined a Premier League rival this month.

ByJoe Nuttall Aug 13, 2024

Maatsen, meanwhile, is still just 22 years old and fresh from an excellent loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, in which he played a vital part in helping the Bundesliga giants reach the Champions League final, before suffering defeat against Real Madrid. Given that quality, all signs are pointing towards the former Chelsea man taking the starting role at left-back for Villa this season.

That does, however, cast doubts over the futures of Digne and Moreno, who have both been linked with a move away this summer. The former has even reportedly been used in recent negotiations as part of a swap deal.

According to Aslinda, Aston Villa and NSWE are negotiating a player-plus-cash deal to sign Ernest Muci from Besiktas that would see Digne head to the Turkish giants. With talks ongoing, it could yet be a move that takes place before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

As things stand, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder doesn't seem to be part of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's plans in Turkey. The former Rangers boss excluded the Albanian from his side's Turkish Super Cup mauling of Galatasaray, before failing to introduce the midfielder from the bench in Besiktas' opening league game against Samsunspor.

Aston Villa know all about "incisive" Muci's quality

Prior to completing a winter move to Besiktas, Muci was starring at Legia Warsaw and even scored a brace against Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League, sealing a stunning 3-2 victory for his side.

He wasn't done there with his audition in front of the Villans, either, going on to find the back of the net once more in the reverse fixture at Villa Park – this time as his side lost 2-1. If Emery wasn't aware of Muci's quality before those fixtures, then he was certainly well aware by the end of the group stage. Praised for being "incisive" by analyst Ben Mattinson, Muci is a player who can steal the show at his best.

If Villa can offload Digne in the process, then their deal to sign the Albanian attacking midfielder could go down as a wise move in the latter stages of the window. Given his recent position in the Besiktas squad too, Muci could be considering the exit door.