Luis Suarez contract update emerges amid Aston Villa transfer links

Atletico Madrid are set to offer striker Luis Suarez a new contract, amid reported interest from Aston Villa and elsewhere.

Suarez, who turned 35 last month, is out of contract in the Spanish capital this summer and Atleti have been mulling over the idea of offering him an extended stay.

The Uruguayan, formerly of Barcelona and Ajax, played with Villa manager Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and the pair almost delivered the club’s first Premier League title - along with the likes of Philippe Coutinho - in 2014.

That link with Gerrard led to mounting speculation that the pair might be reunited - as Coutinho has been - at Villa Park in the January transfer window, but ultimately Suarez stayed put.

Suarez is still playing regularly for the La Liga champions, who are currently fifth in the Spanish top tier and 15 points behind city rivals Real, who are the league leaders.

Suarez scored 21 goals in 38 appearances last season as they marched to the title on the final game of the season, and although they’re comparatively struggling this term, he’s played the same amount of matches and has contributed 12 more goals - most recently at the weekend in a 3-0 win at Osasuna.

Reports emerging now suggest that Atleti will look to extend Suarez’s two-year stay in Madrid and will hope to have secured an agreement before the end of the season - but the player himself may yet wait and consider his options once the current campaign is brought to a close.

There are a host of clubs in MLS who are keen on offering Suarez a different challenge away from Europe, while clubs at the top of Brazilian football could also open the door to a return to South America for the veteran forward.

Villa are expected to be busy in the summer transfer