Aston Villa join Man Utd and Chelsea in Cercle Brugge summer transfer scouting missions
Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as Cercle Brugge chief Rembert Vromant reveals Villa have scouted the Belgian club's players
Cercle Brugge technical director Rembert Vromant has revealed Aston Villa are one of several Premier League clubs who have scouted the Belgian club's players ahead of the summer transfer window.
Cercle have several exciting talents in their squad and three of their top five transfer exits in history came last summer. The Belgian Pro League club has sold on the likes of Jonathan David, Jeremy Doku, Victor Boniface, Charles De Ketelaere and other high profile players for big money in recent seasons.
Back in February, Brentford announced the signing of Igor Thiago from Club Brugge for £30m, who will replace Ivan Toney who appears set to leave the Bees this summer. But Cercle Brugge forward Kevin Denkey has bagged six more goals than Thiago this term having found the net 22 times in 28 appearances.
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Discussing the talent in the club's ranks, Vromant told Het Laatste Nieuws: “Alan Minda and Felipe Augusto have a lot of potential. I think our central defenders should be valued more.
"We are taking Daland’s departure into account this summer. And then of course there is Kevin Denkey. From the calls I receive for him, I notice that he is very good at market.
“We are now in the phase where files from the head scout for all teams end up on the desk of the technical director.
"The decisions are made: who do we go for? Well, in England, Germany and France, teams want to go for Denkey.
“Listen, an average of sixteen scouts come to watch every home match. I have seen the level of those scouts rise this season.
“Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Lens, Lille, Salzburg, Leverkusen, Ajax, Aston Villa… They don’t come only for our opponent, believe me. We bring very interesting players. A young, athletic profile with a good mentality.”