Talks held: Aston Villa working to beat Arsenal to potential £25m transfer

Aston Villa have reportedly held some exploratory talks over a potential transfer move for West Ham United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The 28-year-old could surely be a realistic target for Premier League clubs this summer after West Ham’s relegation to the Championship, and this is not the first story about him we’ve seen this summer.

Villa are being strongly linked with Wan-Bissaka by the Athletic, but earlier in the summer he was also reportedly being considered by Arsenal, according to TEAMtalk.

Wan-Bissaka is a solid and experienced defensive talent who could be a decent player for clubs like Villa or Arsenal.

The Athletic note that Unai Emery’s side are keen on him as someone to provide competition for Matty Cash, and one imagines he would have been lined up for a similar role at the Emirates Stadium.

West Ham to lose Aaron Wan-Bissaka?

West Ham have already lost key players such as Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville this summer, and it was always inevitable that this would happen after their relegation from the top flight to English football’s second tier.

The east London outfit have done well to keep hold of Jarrod Bowen, but there’ll surely be a few more departures to come before the transfer deadline.

Wan-Bissaka should at least bring in a decent fee, though, with the Athletic reporting that he’s likely to cost around £25m.

We’ll have to see if Villa are prepared to pay that, but if not then someone else surely will.

The Arsenal links from earlier in the window seem to have gone quiet, but Mikel Arteta could probably still do with the DR Congo international as someone to add depth to his squad.

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West Ham will no doubt hope to keep as much of this squad together as possible, but even if Wan-Bissaka were to leave, they should still be among the big favourites for promotion this season.