Aston Villa make contact with PL rivals regarding a move for 27-year-old star

Aston Villa are keen on improving their attacking unit with the signing of the Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The 27-year-old has been a key player for Crystal Palace and the Eagles are unwilling to sanction his departure. According to Football Insider, Aston Villa have made contact regarding a potential summer move, but they have been informed that the player is not up for sale.

Crystal Palace are working to secure a contract extension with the player. Preliminary talks are already underway and it remains to be seen whether Mateta decides to sign a new deal with the club.

Meanwhile, the West Midlands club need more quality in the attacking unit. Ollie Watkins has been phenomenal for them, but they need more depth in the side. Signing another reliable striker would be a wise decision. Mateta is a proven performer in the Premier League and it is no surprise that Aston Villa are keen on signing him. It will be interesting to see if they decide to move on to other targets now.

Aston Villa need to sign a quality striker

Aston Villa expected Jhon Duran to leave the club before the end of the transfer window and therefore they are under pressure to bring in a replacement. They cannot hope to head into the new season with Watkins as the only reliable striker. They need more depth in that area, especially now that they are in the Champions League. They will have to deal with fixture congestion and Unai Emery needs to rotate his squad more often in order to keep the players fresh.

It is fair to assume that Aston Villa will be an attractive destination for most players this summer after they finished in the top four last season. They have a talented squad and proven manager like Emery in charge. It remains to be seen whether they can bring in the right additions before the window closes.