Aston Villa have secured the Champions League football, but so far, the Birmingham club has been crippled with departures. Morgan Rogers (138,000,000), Ezri Konsa (59,600,000) and Youri Tielemans (41,000,000 euros) all left and a particular weak spot has been in attack. Only Ollie Watkins is the proper striker there, but he wants to leave. The club rejected multiple offers from Al Hilal and the player even refused to play against Brighton. He did came back to training and apologized to everybody but it’s not certain that he will stay. So, Unai Emery rushed his superiors to boost the attack as soon as possible and two names emerged – Rafael Leao and Jean-Philippe Mateta.BREAKING: Aston Villa have made initial contact with Crystal Palace over signing striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/30hue7cUIv— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 25, 2026 The Portuguese winger still has two years remaining on his contract, which is why Milan have no intention of letting him leave for next to nothing. However, it appears that Milan have realized they may have gone too far with their initial asking price of 60,000,000 euros. They are now prepared to open negotiations if an offer of around 50 million euros arrives, considering that he is not in Ruben Amorim’s plans. Aston Villa are keen to take advantage of the situation. The English club are looking to further strengthen their attacking options, and Leao has emerged as one of their main targets for the final days of the transfer window. The idea of bringing him to Villa Park was put forward by Jorge Mendes, who has already been involved in Aston Villa’s deals for Joao Gomes and Alejandro Garnacho this August. The Portuguese agent is now working on another major deal. The conditions and feasibility of the entire operation are currently being assessed, with the initial indications suggesting there is a basis for the talks to continue.Milan cannot find a buyer for LeaoThe other player is already wanting to leave and is actually in a dispute with his own club. Jean-Philippe Mateta sued his club Crystal Palace claiming they should void the last year of his contract, but for now, it seems he lost the case and will be staying in London one more season, unless he gets sold. The Eagles are known to be hard negotiators even though he could walk away as a free agent in 2027. According to The Times, they rejected Aston Villa’s bid worth around 29 million euros. Palace are open to selling Mateta but want 46 million for a player who has hit double figures in the Premier League in each of the past three seasons.England League Cup Round 2Tuesday21.00: (2.90) Cardiff (3.50) Norwich (2.35) 21.30: (5.40) Doncaster (3.70) Middlesbrou. (1.60) 21.45: (1.67) Barnsley (3.60) Crewe (4.90) 21.45: (2.70) Blackburn (3.35) Sheffield Utd (2.60) 21.45: (3.50) Blackpool (3.45) Lincoln City (2.10) 21.45: (3.20) Cambridge (3.40) Millwall (2.25) 21.45: (2.20) Fleetwood (3.25) Shrewsbury (3.15) 21.45: (1.47) Ipswich (4.10) Leicester (6.25) 21.45: (4.90) Plymouth (3.60) Coventry (1.67) 21.45: (6.25) Sheffield W. (4.10) Wolverhampton (1.48) 21.45: (2.60) Southampton (3.25) West Ham (2.55) 21.45: (2.55) Stevenage (3.05) Reading (2.75)21.45: (2.65) Stoke (2.95) Hull (2.75) 21.45: (3.10) Walsall (3.30) Leyton (2.20) 21.45: (2.00) Watford (3.45) Peterborough (3.45) 22.00: (4.50) Birmingham (3.50) Brentford (1.75) 22.00: (2.25) Nott.Forest (3.40) Leeds (3.20) Wednesday21.45: (3.05) Bradford (3.25) Burnley (2.25) 21.45: (1.35) Newcastle (5.30) WBA (8.00) 21.45: (1.25) Tottenham (6.50) Charlton (10.5) 22.00: (6.00) Preston (3.90) Everton (1.52) Thursday21.30: (1.18) Chelsea (6.50) Luton (13.0) 22.00: (1.18) Fulham (6.50) Wimbledon (13.0) * odds are subject to change
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