Aston Villa set for £21m transfer bid as Steven Gerrard comments on Douglas Luiz

Aston Villa are set for a busy final few days of the transfer window with the deadline on January 31 quickly approaching.

Villa have already brought in Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho, however the Midlands club continue to be linked with an array of players as Steven Gerrard seeks to further strengthen his side.

With no fixture for the club until the clash with Leeds at Villa Park on February 9, attentions turn to potential in-comings and outgoings before Monday's deadline.

With that in mind here is your Thursday morning Aston Villa digest on January 27.

Aston Villa are reportedly set to offer around £21million for Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

Bentancur is a top target for Villa this month with the Uruguayan earmarked to replace the injured Marvelous Nakamba who is sidelined with a knee injury.

Villa are looking to recruit a defensive midfielder so Douglas Luiz can be played in his preferred central midfield position.

Nakamba, whose Villa career has been stop-start since he arrived from Club Brugge in 2019, proved how key the defensive midfield position is in Gerrard’s system before he got injured in December.

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Aston Villa face competition from two other Premier League clubs to sign Manchester City starlet James McAtee, according to reports.

The 19-year-old has been in fine form for City's under-23 team this season and is said to be impressing Premier League clubs Villa, Leicester City and Brighton.

After another match-winning display for the club's U23s on Monday night, the Daily Mail claim his performance "caught the eye of watching scouts".

McAtee's strike in the 1-0 win over Chelsea sent City to the top of Premier League 2 and took his goals tally for the season to 14, ahead of Arsenal's