Aston Villa are battling Tottenham and Nottingham Forest to secure the signature of a teenage prodigy
Sign up to our BirminghamWorld Today newsletter
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to BirminghamWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Aston Villa have emerged as one of the leading contenders to sign rising Belgian wonderkid Nathan De Cat during the January transfer window.
The Lions, who finished last season in sixth position, are in the market for a talented midfielder that can inject a sense of youth into Villa’s ageing team. As it stands, Villa have the fifth oldest team in the league, with an average age of 27.85, according to Give Me Sport.
They are hoping to sign someone that can learn from the likes of Amadou Onana (24), Boubacar Kamara (25) and Youri Tielemans (28) in Villa’s engine room. The club are currently competing in the Europa League but have ambitions of making it back into Europe’s elite competition once again after reaching the quarter-final of the Champions League last term.
Who is Nathan De Cat?
Nathan De Cat is a 17-year-old central defensive midfielder who has already established himself as a first team regular with Belgium side Anderlecht.
The 6ft 4in midfielder made his professional debut at the age of 16, in a 0–1 Challenger Pro League away win against SL16 FC two seasons ago and was swiftly promoted into the first team squad the following summer.
Overall, De Cat has made 26 appearances for Anderlecht, scoring twice and recording one assist. He’s featured in 19 matches in total this term and has been included in the starting lineup in 16 of those instances gaining experience in the top-flight of Belgium, the Europa League qualifiers and the Conference League.
De Cat is expected to break into the Belgium squad in the near future. He has racked up 20 appearances for the nation at various age groups, ranging from Under-15 to Under-19.
He was named in the Team of the Tournament at the Under-17 European Championships over the summer, with his team reaching the semi-final before eventually falling short against France.
“He is a fighter, but loves dribbling too, and is especially fond of performing the Zidane turn,” commented Michael Yokhin via The Guardian as the outlet included him in their next Generation List.
Could Aston Villa sign Nathan De Cat in January?
According to TEAMtalk, Aston Villa are one of three Premier League sides ‘in the race’ to sign midfielder Nathan De Cat from Belgium title contenders Anderlect.
Nottingham Forest, who also secured qualification for the Europa League last term by finishing in seventh, are also interested in the young midfielder amid rising speculation about the future of in-form central midfielder Elliot Anderson.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with interest as they continue to mould a team in the image of new manager Thomas Frank after he replaced Ange Postecoglou.
Anderlecht, who are third in the Belgian Pro League and chasing the title, are keen to retain De Cat’s services but are reportedly willing to listen to offers that are somewhere in the region of £18m plus performance related add-ons.