Aston Villa eyeing summer move for “special” £25m colossus, imagine him and Carlos - opinion

Aston Villa could well be best placed to land highly-rated Burnley defender Nathan Collins, according to journalist Paul Brown.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider stated that the Midlands outfit could well be in pole position to land the 21-year-old, amid reports that they are one of a handful of Premier League sides keen to prise him from Turf Moor.

Brown stated: “I think he’s definitely a good option for teams with that profile, and I think that Villa will probably have the jump on them in terms of, if they wanted to get him, I think that they would have the best chance of doing so.

“Again, because of Steven Gerrard, but also just because of where the club are heading. So yeah, a really good player that is on the market.”

Recent reports have suggested that the Lancashire side could demand as much as £25m for the centre-back, despite having only bought him for £12m from Stoke City a year ago.

Newly-appointed Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been dealt something of a difficult hand with both Ben Mee and James Tarkowski on their way this summer, while the club’s recent relegation has left them vulnerable to losing additional prized assets, such as Collins, with circling sharks smelling blood at the financially struggling outfit.

As Brown alluded to, Villa could be well placed to capitalise on that uncertainty and land the Republic of Ireland international, with the youngster having caught the eye in his debut, top-flight campaign last term.

In 19 league outings, the £9m-rated gem averaged an impressive 4.3 clearances, 1.9 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game, keeping five clean sheets and netting twice to ensure a positive season on a personal note, despite the collective failure.

Such form also sees him