Aston Villa are among the clubs chasing Napoli’s Eljif Elmas ahead of the summer window.
Last month, Sport Witness covered claims from Italy of the 26-year-old attracting interest from Aston Villa and Sunderland. The Champions League qualification was key for them to sign him.
Unai Emery’s side qualified for the Europe’s elite club competition while the Black Cats made it to the Europa League, giving the former an edge.
The midfielder spent over four years with the Serie A side and left them for RB Leipzig in January 2024.
Elmas struggled at the Bundesliga club, who sent him on loan to Torino in January 2025 before sanctioning another loan to Napoli last summer. The latter have a €17m purchase option.
He played 2,481 minutes from 44 matches, managing a goal and four assists.
Boost for Aston Villa
TuttoMercatoWeb now report the Naples club have no intention of retaining Eljif Elmas by exercising the €17m purchase clause.
Napoli made an attempt to buy him for €10-11m, but the German club didn’t accept this. Therefore, the former have ruled out extending his stay and the player has to return to Leipzig, where he has no future.
The North Macedonia international’s future remains uncertain and he could be on the move again.
TMW ask where he can move next and present Fenerbahçe as an option. Elmas spent two years between 2017 and 2019 with the Turkish club.
The Yellow Canaries made a ‘very attractive financial offer’, but this didn’t please him.
He has a clear preference of either staying in Serie A or making a switch to the Premier League this summer. The report states Aston Villa are ‘currently the most attractive option’ for the midfielder.
Elmas not accepting Fenerbahçe offer and favouring a move to England would be double encouragement for Aston Villa, who are keen on signing him. However, the Europa League winners haven’t made an offer so far.
Contract, value and agent info
Eljif Elmas has a contract at RB Leipzig until 2028, and Transfermarkt value him at €13m. The highest value was €26m in March 2023, when he was at Napoli.
There’s no clarity on his current representatives. Agents Nikola Gjosevski and George Gardi negotiated his loan move to Torino in 2025.
