Aston Villa could generate £100m from player sales as Steven Gerrard makes transfer calls

Steven Gerrard has already admitted that Aston Villa’s squad will be given a makeover in the summer transfer window.

Villa sit 15th in the Premier League as we approach the end of the campaign, some way off their target of a return to Europe. The inquest into Villa’s average season has already begun at boardroom level and changes will be made to Gerrard’s squad.

Gerrard will have the final say on transfers and Villa are expected to target proven performers. He also wants to add ‘more leaders’ to the squad and hasn’t ruled out replacing Tyrone Mings as captain.

Wealthy owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have spent a fortune enhancing the playing squad since buying the club in 2018 and their spending won’t stop. But Villa also have lots of fringe players who could be sold to raise funds to spend elsewhere.

Two of the club’s developing strikers, Cameron Archer and Keinan Davis, are enjoying fruitful spells in the Championship and attracting lots of transfer interest. Archer, 20, is set to be given a chance to impress Gerrard in pre-season after scoring seven goals in 16 games for Preston, while Davis, 24, has five in 15 for Nottingham Forest.

“Everyone wants Cam Archer and everyone wants Keinan Davis,” Gerrard said recently. “Good players cost an awful lot of money and you know that.” Davis seems more likely to be sold at this stage and could fetch the club around £5m, with his contract due to expire in two years’ time.

Another homegrown talent who could depart Villa this summer is Carney Chukwuemeka. Chief executive Christian Purslow dubbed Chukwuemeka ‘the best 16-year-old in the country’ two years ago, but Villa haven’t been able to negotiate a new contract with him.

Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing