Aston Villa have had “conversations” with Brighton over Yves Bissouma | OneFootball

Aston Villa have had “conversations” over signing Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma in this January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have claimed that the West Midlands club are very much interested in the Seagulls ace, and that a deal could well be done if the Premier League side table a sizeable bid.

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And now, journalist Ryan Taylor has delivered an update on the situation, revealing to GIVEMESPORT that Villa have made an approach to their top-flight counterparts.

He said: “I know they’ve had conversations with Brighton. But the message being relayed by Brighton over Bissouma is just: ‘No, we don’t want to get rid of him.”

Upgrade on Douglas Luiz

Amid speculation that Douglas Luiz is attracting interest from Arsenal, and confirmation from Villa boss Steven Gerrard that the club have yet to enter into contract talks with the Brazilian, Bissouma’s arrival would represent a significant upgrade.

As per Whoscored, the Mali international averages a whopping 3.6 tackles per game in the Premier League this season, while he also makes 1.9 interceptions too – compare that to those in the Villa squad, and he’s simply far better, with absolutely no-one matching him in either category.

In fact, he’s among the top-flight’s best, with only Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi able to match his tackles per match, while he ranks inside the top ten for interceptions.

It’s a move that has previously been backed by former Villa man Lee Hendrie, who said: “I did a chat with myself and Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday a few weeks ago talking about Bissouma, and we highlighted what he actually does. I mean, his stats are absolutely phenomenal, the way he breaks the game up, his forward play.