Aston Villa join transfer race as Steven Gerrard handed fitness worry ahead of Southampton

The latest Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive ahead of tonight's Premier League match at Villa Park.

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Sport

Amie Wilson Central Audience Writer

04:00, 16 Sep 2022

Steven Gerrard(Image: PA)

Here’s the latest Aston Villa news on Friday, 16 September, 2022.

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Villa join £33m transfer race

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Aston Villa have joined Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in the race to sign Brazilian prospect Andrey Santos, according to reports.

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The 18-year-old has risen through the ranks of the Vasco da Gama academy and has burst into the first team since 2021. The midfielder has made 24 appearances for Vasco in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B this season, scoring a total of five goals in the process despite predominantly operating in a double pivot within a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The rumoured price tag for the wonderkid is around £33million with Vasco setting a high valuation on the player given the ease he has taken to senior football over the past year. According to Jeunesfooteux via Sport Witness , a number of European sides have taken notice of Santos' performances with Villa , Newcastle, Barcelona and PSG all credited with an interest currently.

Full story here .

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Hasenhuttl’s Aston Villa admission

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Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhüttl admits he “loves” Villa Park. The Austrian could well have been mistaken about Villa’s glorious home of 125 years given he labelled Saints’ sorry 4-0 defeat “the worst away performance” of last season.

However, Hasenhüttl cannot wait to be in the opposition dugout in B6 this Friday evening and, ahead of kick-off, said: “It’s a good ground, I love this stadium to be honest. It’s a beautiful traditional football ground. Even when we go there, it’s what you think about when you think about English football . It’s really lovely.

“The rest is about performing because we’re not going around to see a lovely ground, we're going to show how good we can be. Hopefully we will be very competitive and show our quality.”

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Full story here .

Triple goalkeeper worry

Aston Villa are sweating over the possibility of being without THREE first-team goalkeepers ahead of tomorrow night’s showdown with Southampton.

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Emi Martinez and Robin Olsen missed training today (Thursday) due to an illness and injury respectively, while third-choice Jed Steer remains out long-term with an Achilles problem. Head coach Steven Gerrard is, though, remaining hopeful of having Martinez and Olsen available.

Offering a slightly worrying update ahead of Southampton , Gerrard said: “We’ve been without Emi Martinez and Robin Olsen for today’s session. Emi has had a little bit of an illness. It’s not too much to worry about, he hasn’t trained today but I expect him to be available. He’s gone home on the back of seeing the doctor to rest up and, hopefully, he’ll be available tomorrow.”

Full story here .

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Steven Gerrard’s transfer window point

A determined Steven Gerrard believes the best is yet to come from his Aston Villa group following the closure of the transfer window two weeks ago. The club kept hold of Douglas Luiz on deadline day amid interest from Arsenal while Gerrard added Jan Bednarek and Leander Dendoncker to make it seven signings for the season ahead.

Post-deadline day, Villa recorded a 1-1 draw with Man City in what was by far their best performance of the season to date. Gerrard now believes his side can kick on after winning just once from their opening six Premier League games, with Southampton next up at Villa Park tomorrow.

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“I think we can certainly feel more settled,” Gerrard said. “While the window is still open and the season’s starting, there’s a lot of noise externally and internally about who’s going, who’s staying… it’s difficult to get into your rhythm, if you like, in terms of who’s going to be here and who’s not.”

Full story here .

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