£40m Aston Villa transfer 'lined up' as club poised to open key talks

Aston Villa are reportedly set to open talks with defender Matty Cash about a new contract.

Cash has been heavily linked with a move away from Villa Park with Spanish champions Atletico Madrid said to be keen on signing the player. He is the only one of Steven Gerrard 's players to have played every game this season and has been a consistent performer for Villa since he moved from Nottingham Forest in the 2020 summer transfer window.

Cash is out of contract at the end of the 2024-25 season but it is being reported in The Sun that Villa will look to open talks with the player about a new deal. If Cash does sign fresh terms with Villa it would mean a pay rise for the 24 year-old but his value would be protected in case another club does come in for him.

It is being reported that Atleti are 'lining up' a £40 million bid for Cash with the player identified as a potential replacement for Kieran Trippier, who joined Newcastle United in January. Villa would not want to lose any of their top players as Gerrard eyes his first summer window in charge of the club as one where he can improve his squad.

Gerrard spoke about receiving backing from the club's owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, after his side's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday. "The League does not lie and I'd say that Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, West Ham, Wolves, at the moment, are ahead of us for a reason and there's a gap and that is what we are striving to do," Gerrard said.

"But if we want to take one of them places, we've got to be positive, got to believe in it, can't be indecisive, and we've got to go and grab it off them, we've got to believe what we're doing, to keep learning and get support from up above and grab it." Cash