Aston Villa have Udinese’s Thomas Kristensen on their agenda for the summer.
The centre-back joined the Serie A side from Danish club AGF in September 2023 and has been a regular since then.
His displays have caught the attention of Premier League sides, including Aston Villa.
On April 1st, Sport Witness covered claims from Italy that the Villans, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest had interest last summer. Juventus and AC Milan now join the chase.
Therefore, Udinese are pushing to renew the Denmark international’s contract. As of now, he hasn’t committed his long-term future to the Italian club.
Aston Villa chasing defender
Meanwhile, Unai Emery’s side are back in the mix for the 24-year-old.
That’s according to TuttoMercatoWeb, and their title states Aston Villa are ‘interested’ ahead of the summer.
AC Milan have repeatedly watched Thomas Kristensen recently, and several Premier League sides are keeping a close watch. Only Aston Villa get a direct mention.
Thomas Kristensen’s contract expires in 2028, and the next window could be their last big chance to earn a good fee. Therefore, Udinese are considering the possibility of his departure and have set a €25m price. This may not be an issue for the Villa Park club.
Defender aims to join Europe-qualifying club
Thomas Kristensen recently told Campo that the Italian club had made a renewal offer. He’s yet to make the final decision as he continues to have the goal of joining a European club.
“Yes, I can confirm that [Udinese wants to extend]. It’s not the first time that this has happened. They came after a year and a half already,” he said.
“The situation is that we had a plan when I came that I would play for a period, so that I could then also take a leap from there again. So, it is clear that it is in our plans that the step should be taken further.
“When that will be, we will have to see. But yes, there has been some contract extension talk and some proposals there, yes.
“In the short term, it’s quite likely that the next step should be to a bigger club, perhaps one playing in Europe. I wouldn’t rule that out.”
“Things are open, so it’s hard to say, but in any case, a move to a bigger club is clearly the step I see myself taking.”
Aston Villa fit the bill
The Udinese star’s desire to join a club playing in a UEFA competition would come as encouragement for the Premier League side.
Aston Villa are fifth in the table, six points ahead of sixth placed AFC Bournemouth, and are in a comfortable position to qualify for the Champions League.
In short, the defender can fulfil his goal if he were to join the Villans after this season. He’s made 28 appearances this season and Transfermarkt value him at €12m.
