After Harry Wilson: Aston Villa preparing bid to sign a new Rashford for £0

Aston Villa will head into the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday night slightly bruised by their Fulham ordeal in the Premier League.

With just one shot on target at the Cottagers goal all game, Unai Emery‘s men were way off the standards that saw them smash home eight goals at Villa Park versus Sunderland and Bologna, as a disappointing 1-0 defeat was stomached.

Thankfully, it is only a short trip to Nottingham for the first leg, as the Villans face fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, for a chance to reach the coveted Europa League final.

Sitting rather comfortably in fifth spot in the league standings, too, Villa fans will surely have one eye on the summer already, in terms of incomings to the West Midlands.

Aston Villa line up free transfer move

Brighton and Hove Albion are currently sat in sixth position on 50 points, so barring a spectacular collapse, Emery’s men should clinch Champions League football come the close of the campaign. There is, of course, also the route of winning the Europa League final, too.

Clinching a spot around this exclusive table doesn’t look as if it will be enough to keep Morgan Rogers grounded at Villa Park, though, with the West Midlands giants linked with a sprawling list of midfield targets.

Curtis Jones is allegedly being looked at by a Villa perspective, as the born and bred Scouser looks to move away from Liverpool, while a free transfer swoop for Harry Wilson is mooted, after he dazzled in the 1-0 win at Craven Cottage for Fulham.

Alongside Wilson possibly joining for free, new reports from Germany suggest that the Europa League semi-finalists will go after Borussia Dortmund attacker Julian Brandt on another potential free transfer when the season is over, with Brandt confirmed to be leaving Dortmund at the expiry of his contract.

With Emery noted as admiring the German’s versatile nature in the forward positions, Villa are seen as holding an advantage in any race that ensues, with Newcastle United also keen. Both Premier League teams are said to be preparing an ‘aggressive’ bid to secure the player’s services.

How Brandt could be Rashford 2.0

The Spaniard might be about to win his next Marcus Rashford by snapping up Brandt shrewdly, with the Bremen-born playmaker once a notable boy wonder, like the current Barcelona attacker, among other similarities.

Rashford was an instant hit at Villa Park last season, when he joined Emery’s ranks on a brief loan deal from Manchester United, with the 28-year-old forward in desperate need of a confidence boost, and he got just that after opening his Villa account in the Premier League with a breakaway strike.

He never looked back from that point on, as he helped himself to a further three goals and six assists from only 17 games. The hope will be that Brandt can instantly set the Villa first team ranks alight when he joins, if another unexpected move occurs.

Once upon a time, much like Rashford, winning a player of Brandt’s billing at Villa Park would have been viewed as absurd, with Jurgen Klopp an alleged big fan back in 2017, at the Liverpool helm, as he tried to push through a deal for the German, over landing Mohamed Salah.

His time in the Premier League spotlight could finally come, now, and with his 303-game stay at Dortmund about to come to a close, the 29-year-old playmaker will be praying he succeeds in England, to quickly forget about his long-standing connection with the Black and Yellow finishing.

Rashford needed a reprieve at Villa himself when his Old Trafford playing days came tumbling down, and it’s clear that 48-time Germany international isn’t a washed-up pro who will struggle, with 57 goals and 69 assists next to his name at the Signal Iduna Park, 14 of which have come about this season. On that evidence, it is hardly a surprise that European football expert Zach Lowy described him as “one of the most exciting talents in Europe”.

Therefore, he should be able to excel, like his Manchester-born counterpart, with nine career goals in the Champions League, also helping Villa’s chances of succeeding in Europe’s elite competition, if they get there.

Further capable of playing down the wings, and through the middle, like Rashford, it really does have all the makings of being a stunning free transfer deal, with the “effortless” midfielder – as he was once labelled by scout Antonio Mango – a potential fan favourite right from the start.

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