Aston Villa: Gerrard could bring 'phenomenal' £31.5m star to Villa Park

Aston Villa could still potentially sign Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma this summer, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.

The Villans tried to land the 25-year-old in January, and Crook has refused to rule out the possibility of them renewing their interest.

In his first transfer window at the club, Steven Gerrard wanted to bring in a central midfielder, and he turned to Bissouma.

Gerrard confirmed that Villa put an offer in for Bissouma, believed to be in the region of £25m, but this was rejected by the South Coast club.

Bissouma, who has been at Brighton since 2018, is currently valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt.

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Brighton may have already turned down a bid for Bissouma from Villa, but Crook thinks the Premier League outfit would be happy to sell the midfielder this summer for the right price.

With Bissouma about to enter the final year of his contract, and Brighton having a couple of alternatives to the Mali international, Crook feels the club may now be tempted to cash in on him.

Speaking about Villa’s search for a midfielder, Crook told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s an area that Gerrard’s been trying to address. Yves Bissouma’s one to keep an eye on, because I think Brighton, if they get a decent offer from someone like Aston Villa, they would be willing to sell, because they’ve got Caicedo, who’s come into the team at the end of the season and played quite well. They’ve got Mwepu, who they think can have a decent second season as well.”

If Bissouma did move to Villa Park, he would likely take over from Douglas Luiz at the base of Villa’s midfield. He compares favourably to the Brazilian, based on this season’s