Aston Villa ‘are still in the chase' for £26million man
Villa are still in the hunt to sign Maximilian Beier with the Hoffenheim striker set to make a decision on his future soon amid growing competition from Borussia Dortmund, according to reportss in Germany, Villa and Chelsea both made offers for the 21-year-old last week.
Beier, who has a £26million release clause, has also attracted interest from Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen.
Now, Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund are pushing to sign the Germany international as a replacement for Niclas Fullkrug following his departure to West Ham. German correspondent Florian Plettenberg added that Die Borussen want to complete a deal as soon as possible with newly-appointed boss Nuri Sahin keen to get him through the door.
Beier scored 16 times in 35 appearances during his breakthrough season in the Bundesliga last term.
He has also been capped twice by Germany after making his debut in a friendly match against Ukraine in June.
With Colombian attacker Jhon Duran set to leave this summer, Villa are on the lookout for another striker to provide competition for Ollie Watkins and returning academy graduate Cameron Archer.
French frontman Jean-Philippe Mateta and Portugal international Joao Felix have also been linked with Unai Emery’s side.
Elsehwere, Shrewsbury Town are closing in on the signing of Josh Feeney on a season-long loan from Villa, Shropshire Star understands.
The 19-year-old came through the youth ranks with Fleetwood Town before joining Villa in the summer of 2021 – he then signed his first contract a year later in 2022.
Feeney, who is set to sign for Shrews for the forthcoming season, will not be the only player to make a temporary switch from Villa Park as he joins team-mate Tommi O’Reilly. He has already made an impression in his brief cameos during the club’s pre-season fixtures.
Feeney’s only taste of competitive senior action came during a spell with Real Union, where he made eight appearances earlier this year – O’Reilly was also there during that time.
The deal to sign the former England youth international has been a protracted one after he went on tour with Villa to America.
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