With Aston Villa set to stay in the Championship for a second season in a row, a few of their players could end up looking elsewhere for top-flight football come the end of the campaign.
While there has been little indication he will be one of them, interest in Jordan Amavi is expected to be high this summer, with Marseille making it clear in January they wanted to bring him back to the south of France.
Towards the middle of February, a story appeared in France that Steve Bruce had been studying the possibility of bringing in a ready-made replacement in Paris Saint-Germain’s Fodé Ballo-Touré.
The 20-year-old was out of contract in June, with a long list of Premier League clubs, and Aston Villa, keen on bringing him on a free.
However, according to L’Equipe in France, the player appears to have rejected all interest from abroad to remain in his home country.
The French newspaper, looking at all the youth contracts set to expire at Paris Saint-Germain this summer, explain Unai Emery and co. have resigned to the fact Ballo-Touré will be leaving, with Lille his destination.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Jordan Amavi in the summer, with the player unlikely to want to reject European football if the right offer comes along.
Of course, a lot rests on Aston Villa’s stubbornness, as Dr Tony Xia seems determined to keep as many of his players as possible.
