Aston Villa are on the hunt for more signings in the summer transfer window, seeing the club up their pursuit of one target.
Monchi and Unai Emery will be satisfied with their work so far this summer, with plenty of transfer action unfolding at Aston Villa.
Most recently, the club welcomed Jaden Philogene from Hull City, with Amadou Onana poised to arrive in the coming days.
Despite there being a lot of activity ongoing at Bodymoor Heath, Monchi seems to have his eyes firmly on another target for Villa to chase.
Aston Villa make second offer to Besiktas for transfer target Semih Kilicsoy
The most interesting story currently unfolding at Villa is the pending exit of Moussa Diaby, who looks set to join Al-Ittihad.
As the Frenchman’s short stint at the club draws to a close, it seems that Emery already has his eye on identifying a replacement, with several attacking players linked to Villa.
One name is Semih Kilicsoy, whom Villa have made a second offer for this summer as the Midlands club hope to pry him away from Besiktas.
As reported by Turkish outlet Gunebakis, the Villans have made a ‘new offer’ to the Super Lig giants for Kilicsoy, believed to be in the region of €30m (£25m).
The report outlines that Villa had an opening offer of €18m + Alex Moreno, and a return to Besiktas for a year-long loan, rejected, with Monchi’s desire to sign the player now made clear with an improved second swoop.
In June, it was reported in Turkey by Aksam that Arsenal were closing in on signing the 18-year-old, as Villa now join the race to sign the teenage sensation.
Kilicsoy could be the perfect Jhon Duran replacement
While the hunt to find a replacement for Diaby is underway, Emery will also be eyeing a player to succeed the role of Jhon Duran in the squad.
It looks likely that the Colombian will leave Villa this summer, after making it clear that he wanted to leave earlier in the window, with Chelsea and West Ham credited with interest.
- READ MORE: What Aston Villa have in ‘back of their mind’ over Jhon Duran amid West Ham and Chelsea interest
In Kilicsoy, Emery could capture the perfect signing to not only replace Duran’s spot in the squad, but to also act as an upgrade to the Villa striker.
Last season marked a breakthrough for the 18-year-old, who contributed to 15 goals in 35 appearances for Besiktas in all competitions, telling of his potential so early into his career.
The striker, who was lauded as being a ‘dynamic versatile forward’ by U23 scout Antonio Mango, could be the ideal successor to Duran, who spent last season as Emery’s alternative to Ollie Watkins.
While Duran showed how clinical he can be when called upon, it’s clear that the 20-year-old is already tired of being the number two to Watkins, which could pave the way for a rising star like Kilicsoy to come in.
The 28-year-old only has one season of senior football under his belt so far, giving Emery a challenge to partake in to potentially unearth Villa’s next big thing.
Given the Turkey international’s eye for goal, as shown over the 2023/24 where he maintained a conversion rate of 19% in the Super Lig, via Sofascore, the Spaniard could locate his appropriate heir to Duran by capturing Kilicsoy.
