Aston Villa looking to boost their attack with the signing of Ligue 1 star

Aston Villa have certainly been one of the busier clubs so far in the early days of the summer transfer window. With the club in danger of breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules it is believed the club need to raise funds of approximately £60 million before 30th June.

It is very likely that Brazilian superstar Douglas Luiz will complete his move to Juventus in the coming days for a fee of £25-30 million. In addition, it is almost certain that Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea will be joining Villa as part of the deal. Weston McKennie's involvement in the deal has now fallen through after the player was unable to come to an agreement with either club over his potential move from Italy to England.

Elsewhere, Villa are also close to a deal that will see Jhon Duran join Chelsea for a fee in the region of £40 million. The negotiations have stalled slightly as a result of the player's wage demands but the deal is likely to go through. In other news relating to Chelsea, young Dutch left back Ian Maatsen has agreed to a 6-year deal with Aston Villa and is likely to join the club for a fee of £37.5 million once the European Championships have come to a close.

Other players such as Tim Iroegbunam, who has joined Everton for £10 million, are helping the club to raise valuable funds.

Once Villa have completed the necessary business to assure they meet the PSR demands by the end of this month, they will have more freedom to spend money on players they wish to bring in to boost the squad.

One of the names that has been mentioned several times previously is Lille forward Jonathan David. David is rumoured to be in early stages of contact with Manchester United but Villa have been long-term admirers of the Canadian international and are hoping to express their interest soon. It is likely that an offer in the region of £25 million will be accepted by the French club.

With Duran very likely to leave the club, Villa will be lacking in depth in the forward line. Ollie Watkins was a true talisman for the club last season with a huge number of goals and assists across all season but should he suffer an injury or suspensions Villa will need sufficient back-up or competition. Jonathan David scored 26 goals and added 9 assists from his 47 appearances last season and at a young age of 24 he is seen as the perfect solution.

David has many of the same attributes as Duran such as his power and ability to score goals out of nothing. David does however bring a huge amount of experience already having played nearly 200 games already in the top flight in France, compared to only three starts in 18 months for Duran. Duran has obvious potential and may well go on to be one of the world's best forwards in years down the line, but for Villa the time is now to get the players they need to achieve success.

Should Villa be able to finalise the sale of Duran for a fee anywhere near the £40 million mark then it will certainly be great business. Duran was bought for a fee of £15 million in January last year and to therefore sell the player for over double that price having played only a handful of games for the club would be a huge success. That would then help Villa to meet the PSR demands and provide licence to sign a top forward like David in July or August.

UTV