Aston Villa interested in signing new winger in January

Aston Villa are interested in former Everton and Watford star Gerard Deulofeu as they look to bolster their attacking options under new manager Unai Emery, 90min understands.

Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in November and is looking to drag Villa up the Premier League standings. He won his first two games in charge before the international break, only for that run to end with a 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Monday.

Among the positions Villa are keen to reinforce is out wide, and sources have confirmed to 90min that Deulofeu’s name has been mentioned as a possible target.

Emery worked with Deulofeu, who is currently on Udinese’s books, at Sevilla during the 2014/15 season. The winger was on loan from Barcelona that year and racked up three goals and ten assists across all competitions.

Since then, Emery has spoken positively about Deulofeu’s development and was full of praise for the winger when he was in charge of Arsenal.

Now 28, Deulofeu attracted interest from both AC Milan and Napoli last summer after racking up 13 goals in the 2012/22 Serie A season, with Udinese’s €20m price tag eventually fending off all interest.

Deulofeu’s impressive form has continued this year, with the Spaniard chipping in with two goals and six assists in 15 outings, and Villa are interested in a January move as he enters the final 18 months of his contract.