On Wednesday, the Italian press suggested Aston Villa might not make another move for Bologna centre-back Jhon Lucumi.
They claimed that the defender’s release clause of €28m is only valid till the 10th of July and the Italian club were growing in confidence about keeping him.
Bologna-based newspaper Il Resto del Carlino, as relayed by TuttoBolognaWeb, have now reported Aston Villa are actually getting ‘serious’ in a move for the Colombian. Unai Emery’s side are firmly ahead of Bournemouth in the race.
While the Villans’ initial approach hasn’t proved successful, the local newspaper believe that Lucumi is destined to depart Bologna and the Birmingham club are now the favourites to land him.
As the Rossoblu look around for the South American’s replacements, they will also have to fend off interest from Aston Villa in the case of another star.
The player in question is Dan Ndoye and Il Resto del Carlino claim Villa Park are in the race for the Switzerland international.
Manchester United have been linked with the winger in the past few weeks and it remains to be seen if Aston Villa actually make a move for Ndoye.
