Steven Gerrard gets Yves Bissouma seal of approval ahead of fresh Aston Villa transfer move

Steven Gerrard's former Rangers player Leon Balogun claims Yves Bissouma "is a joy to watch", having played alongside and trained with the midfielder at Brighton.

Bissouma was heavily linked with a January move to Villa Park last month, but reports claim that Brighton's £50million valuation put off suitors.

The Mali international will enter the final 12 months his contract at the end of the season and Aston Villa could pursue a fresh move for him after reportedly seeing a £25million bid rejected by Brighton a few weeks ago.

Gerrard is said to be a big fan of the midfielder and his former Rangers defender Balogun knows exactly what he could bring to his Villa team.

"I was always very honest with these things, with the way Graham Potter plays it’s better for him, but if you look at his potential he can go places you know," Balogun said.

"He’s a blessing for Brighton, but if you love football and you love watching gifted players, you should wish for him to make the next step.

"With the way he’s playing now, you don’t even see what he can do, he can do so much more. In training sometimes, he didn’t even tie his shoelaces and he had everyone on skates.

"He’s a joy to watch, I saw his Instagram story the other day in Ivory Coast where he’s doing all of these flicks, he does things with so much ease you know, the way he beats players, he’s incredible, a really, really gifted player."