Villa are looking for their second signing of the window after securing Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona; After beating West Brom 2-1 on Saturday in the FA Cup, Brighton manager Graham Potter said there has been no contact from other clubs for midfielder Yves Bissouma
Saturday 8 January 2022 19:59, UK
Aston Villa are interested in Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma as he enters the final 18 months of his contract.
Bissouma, 25, is with Mali ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on Sunday - live on Sky Sports.
Brighton manager Graham Potter, who on Thursday said he expects to keep all of his players this month, faced questions about Bissouma after winning 2-1 at West Brom in Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie.
Asked if any club had been in touch about Bissouma, Potter simply said: "No."
Villa have already agreed a deal to bring Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho back to the Premier League on loan.
The agreement, which is subject to the player completing a medical and receiving a work permit, also includes an option to buy and Coutinho will travel to Birmingham in the next 48 hours.
Villa are paying less than 50 per cent of Coutinho's weekly wage, plus bonuses, Sky Sports News has been told.
It is understood that Villa are also interested in signing a left-back this month, with Bologna's highly-rated Scottish defender Aaron Hickey under consideration.
The 19-year-old left-back moved to Italian side Bologna in the summer of 2020, after breaking through at Hearts.
Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth:
"I'm told today Villa are interested in Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma.
"Now, we do know he is a sought after player. He is into the final 18 months of his Brighton contract. We haven't heard of any talks over a new contract as such right now, but Brighton boss Graham Potter, in his news conference [on Thursday], did say that he expects everyone who is in his squad at the moment to be in his squad come February 1.
"He hasn't directly been asked about Bissouma yet because this has come to our notice since that news conference.
"As for Bissouma, he is currently with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, but that, I think will be one to keep an eye on for the rest of this window.
"It looks like Aston Villa are really going for it in this transfer window."
Who will be on the move in January?
The January transfer window opens on Saturday January 1, 2022 and closes at 11pm on Monday January 31.
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