Tottenham Hotspur maestro Lucas Bergvall is among two midfielders Aston Villa could target after losing Amadou Onana to a serious injury, according to reports.
Onana has featured in four of Belgium’s five World Cup matches, but he went down awkwardly during their 4-1 victory over the US in the round of 16 and tore his ACL. The midfielder was later seen on crutches, while Romelu Lukaku held up a shirt with his name on after scoring Belgium’s fourth and final goal.
Onana is expected to be out for at least nine months, and potentially as long as a year depending on the speed of his recovery.
That means the 24-year-old may not feature for Aston Villa next season until around April at the earliest.
Fellow midfielder Boubacar Kamara is aiming to return to fitness in time for Villa’s pre-season preparations after sustaining a knee injury in January.
Should Kamara return in time for the new campaign, then Villa boss Unai Emery will be able to utilise the Frenchman alongside players such as John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Ross Barkley and Lamare Bogarde.
But Villa were in the market for midfield reinforcements even before Onana’s injury, and that development has only increased their transfer need.
Football Insider report that Villa and Nottingham Forest are competing for Spurs star Bergvall, who looks set to be sold after the north London club captured Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
Their journalist Pete O’Rourke said: “Spurs are going to have to balance the books, so selling somebody like Bergvall, who they’ll make a big profit on having signed him from Sweden, I think could be smart business.
“I think there’ll be a lot of competition in Europe for Bergvall as well, so look, Spurs will be hoping there’s a bit of an auction for him and they can get the biggest price possible for the Swedish midfielder.”
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Bergvall, Moriba both Aston Villa targets
We revealed on June 22 that Villa and Chelsea have made enquiries for Bergvall, with the likes of Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Inter Milan and AC Milan all in the mix, too.
Spurs have been tipped to sell the exciting 20-year-old if an offer worth £45-50million arrives.
FI also reported on July 2 that Ilaix Moriba is the ‘latest target’ Villa are eyeing for their midfield. The Villans are ‘weighing up a move’ for the 23-year-old after being impressed by his performances for Celta Vigo in LaLiga.
Celta Vigo want £25m for Moriba, whereas Villa are aiming to strike a deal at closer to £15m.
Moriba has great pedigree, having come through Barcelona’s famed academy before leaving for RB Leipzig in 2021.
FI add that Villa will ‘block’ any midfield sales this summer as Emery wants to build on their fourth-placed Premier League finish.