Fabrizio Romano reports that Aston Villa submitted an opening bid to Marco Asensio last week, with negotiations ongoing for days.
There’s no final decision yet, with Villa still waiting on the player and other interested parties. Paris Saint-Germain have approached Asensio, as have various Italian clubs. But Villa are pushing to get an answer.
This news follows a recent report from Alberto Pereiro of radio station Onda Cero, who claimed that AC Milan, Arsenal, and PSG were all interested in Asensio.
The two reports seemingly line up in terms of AC Milan and PSG, but not Arsenal.
Romano made no mention of interest from the Gunners, though Arsenal have long been linked with the 27-year-old.
Arsenal’s interest in signing a wide forward appears to have cooled in recent weeks, amid the news that Reiss Nelson is close to signing a new contract.
With Nelson extending, and Emile Smith Rowe also seemingly not for sale, Arsenal already have backups in wide areas.
It’s in the centre of the pitch and in defence where the squad is a bit short, particularly with Granit Xhaka on the way out.
If Arsenal were ever interested in signing Asensio, they’re likely to be less keen now.
Asensio scored 12 goals and assisted eight in 50 appearances for Real Madrid this season.
Aston Villa are looking to push on with new signings after their European qualification, though it remains to be seen whether Asensio would be willing to give up his offers from Champions League clubs to play in the Europa Conference League.