Aston Villa linked with fresh £50m transfer as Newcastle deal explained

Brendan Rodgers says Leicester City star Wilfred Ndidi is "worth much more" than £50million after Aston Villa were linked with a blockbusting move for the midfielder this summer.

According to reports, Villa are said to be seriously interested in the Foxes ace as they look to beef up their midfield options this summer.

Villa are eager to sign a defensive midfielder having seen a £25m bid for Brighton's Yves Bissouma rejected in the January transfer window.

Now it is being suggested that Ndidi could be an alternative with a £50m price tag being quoted by several media outlets.

But asked whether it was nice to have a £50m player in the squad ahead of their Europa Conference clash against Randers, Leicester boss Rodgers said: "He's worth much more than that."

Ndidi said he was happy at Leicester earlier today (Wednesday) but Rodgers accepted that his performances for the club would always lead to interest.

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Tottenham boss Antonio Conte admits Aston Villa are among a host of teams who want to keep improving in the Premier League as he admitted to the "strange situation" he is experiencing at Spurs.

The former Chelsea boss has seen Spurs drop off the pace in the race for a top-four spot and they were beaten by Wolves at the weekend.

Conte admits he has had to adjust to life in the hot seat at a team not fighting for title honours, but will hope to lead Spurs to a European finish especially as they have three games in hand.

But he accepts that Spurs cannot afford to stand still given the strength of competition in the Premier League, Villa being one of them.

"In the past, I always say I have to feel only one per cent the possibility to win the league," he told beIN Sports .

"For sure here the situation is