‘Firm Offers’ Made For Everton And Aston Villa Linked Nathan Zeze | OneFootball

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Matters are now heating up for Aston Villa and Everton target Nathan Zeze as two clubs have put in ‘firm offers’ to sign the highly rated Nantes defender.

During an injury-plagued season, Zeze featured in 18 of Nantes’ 34 Ligue 1 matches last term, in what was a disappointing campaign for the club with a finish of 13th.

He proved his return to fitness recently though as earlier this summer he played for France Under-21s at the European Under-21 Championship, and even got on the scoresheet.

At the beginning of May, the 20-year-old centre-back was the subject of a bid from Bournemouth, who made a verbal offer of €20m for him.

Other Premier League sides are also keen on the defensive prospect, with Aston Villa and Everton most recently being linked with him.

Villa are operating carefully, being determined not to sell Ollie Watkins, while they want Lucas Digne to sign a new contract.

They need to sign a centre-back though following Axel Disasi’s loan ending, while Everton are also in the market for defensive reinforcements.

With both keen on Zeze, they are now approaching a crunch point where if they do not act he may no longer be available.

Indeed, according to French outlet Ouest-France, Saudi Pro League side Neom and La Liga outfit Villarreal have both submitted official bids for Zeze.

Villarreal’s offer is believed to be around €22m, while Neom’s bid is also in a similar range to that proposal.

While it remains to be seen whether Nantes accept any of those bids, both clubs are serious about getting their hands on Zeze.

It is suggested that Zeze, who is under contract with Nantes for another three years, is close to leaving the club.

Now all that remains to be seen is where the young defender heads to continue his development.