Aston Villa have sent a formal bid for goalkeeper Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson who plays for Swedish side Elfsborg.
Despite surpassing the halfway point in the transfer window, Aston Villa are still yet to make a signing while their top-four rivals have strengthened.
Tottenham, for example, have signed highly-rated centre-back Radu Dragusin permanently and forward Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig.
Their business isn’t done there with exciting Club Brugge attacker Antonio Musa said to be close to arrival.
While Spurs are enjoying a fruitful transfer window so far, Villa have struggled to get business done, though they are close on one or two.
Kosta Nedeljkovic is close to arriving on a permanent deal from Red Star Belgrade and Villa have had two birds turned down for Middlesbrough attacker Morgan Rogers.
The intention is there for Unai Emery to bolster his squad in this window with youngsters.
That trend now looks set to continue after a highly-rated goalkeeper popped onto their radar.
Fabrizio Romano reveals Aston Villa have made a bid for Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson
Although goalkeeper isn’t a priority position for Aston Villa, Emery could lend another pair of hands as a back-up, especially if Filip Marschall departs the club.
The 20-year-old has been linked with a move on loan to MK Dons and while this would be beneficial for his development, it’s opened up the window of opportunity to acquire a young goalkeeper.
On that, Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Villa have sent a formal bid in excess of €2 million (£1.7 million) to IF Elsborg for goalkeeper Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson.
The Icelandic shot-stopper has spent his entire career in his home country while his 14 clean sheets in 29 appearances last term saw him voted goalkeeper of the year in the Allsvenskan.
At the age of just 22, Valdimarsson would only be used as back-up but having already made five appearances for his nation – including one against Portugal last November – he certainly boasts huge potential.
A smart move for Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez is a world-class goalkeeper who continues to show why he’s one of the best on the planet.
In the 0-0 draw against Everton on Sunday, he made a pivotal save to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin, described by legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel as “out of this world”.
While there is next to no chance Emery would consider dropping his World Cup-winning hero, adding Valdimarsson to the fold could be hugely beneficial.
Villa have 34-year-old Robin Olsen as a second-choice goalkeeper but if Marschall does make the loan switch, that will leave them with just two on the books.
If they can pull off the capture of the Icelandic goliath, they would be acquiring someone with huge potential who can learn from Martinez.
This can only yield positive results for their goalkeeping union, especially if he’s only going to cost less than £2 million.
