Aston Villa could see their transfer plans scuppered, with a deal for Lutsharel Geertruida likely to hinge on Diego Carlos leaving for Fulham.
Unai Emery is building his Aston Villa squad with the view of making an impact in the Champions League alongside the club’s domestic exploits this season.
So far, this has seen eight players arrive at Villa Park, with £50 million Amadou Onana the most recent as well as most expensive.
Despite Champions League qualification, Villa have had to be clever with their business and that saw youth prospects Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman sold as well as first-team departures in the shape of Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa may regret selling Moussa Diaby as key Unai Emery target slammed as a ‘liability’
Villa are keen to do another piece of business in order to sign what they view as an upgrade at the heart of the defence, but that could now be ruined by Fulham’s interest in an alternative option.
Aston Villa move for Lutsharel Geertruida hinges on Diego Carlos exit
Diego Carlos has struggled to ever hit the heights anticipated when Villa spent £26 million to sign him from Sevilla in Steven Gerrard’s last transfer window in charge.
Injury kept the centre-back out for almost the entirety of his first season, whilst his inconsistency combined with the fact he is 31 has led to Emery keen to sell the Brazilian and Fulham are the club pushing hardest for the signing.
Any sale would leave Villa light at centre-back, with Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings – who is nearing a return from injury – the three senior options that would be left.
That has been accounted for, though, and Emery already knows who he wants to bring in.
That is according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who posted on ‘X’: “Understand Aston Villa keep advancing on Lutsharel Geertruida deal as contacts continue.
“Not easy with Feyenoord but still high on the list with talks ongoing, as exclusively revealed this week.
“Diego Carlos’ future will be key with Fulham close to getting it done.”
Fulham bid for Joachim Andersen could see Aston Villa miss out on Geertruida
Just as quickly as hopes of Villa finalising the sale of Carlos to Fulham materialised, they could now dissipate and, with them, the hopes of signing Geertruida.
That is because The Athletic report that Fulham lodged a £20 million bid for Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen on Saturday night.
This could be a blow for Villa, but the good news is that the report goes on to claim that Palace rejected the offer and are ‘seeking a fee more in the region of £40 million’.
With Marc Guehi also linked with a move away, this could see Palace reluctant to sanction the sale of Andersen as well which is positive for Villa.
Carlos is also likely to be much cheaper than Andersen, so Villa’s hopes of the sale going through that would allow them to make a concrete offer for Geertruida are not over.
