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Grealish tells Villa he can convince exciting 90-goal striker to sign up

Aston Villa have reportedly been given hope they can win the race to sign Tammy Abraham this summer – thanks to Jack Grealish.

Abraham, 23, has fallen down the Stamford Bridge pecking order since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at the helm. He has made 12 starts among 22 Premier League appearances this term but the majority of those came prior to the German arriving. And the man with six England caps even bagged a hat-trick in the FA Cup against Luton Town just before Tuchel’s appointment.

The Londoner was used sparingly in the closing months of the season and a move away from Stamford Bridge looks likely.

However, Chelsea are likely to place a huge prohibitive £40m asking price on the striker.

Nonetheless, the attacker is not short of admirers and has been strongly linked with Villa and West Ham. There is interest from the Bundesliga too, with Thursday’s Euro Paper Talk providing details of a potentially-exciting move.

The Hammers appear to be in the driving seat amid claims Abraham would prefer to stay in London. However, it’s reported the £40m price could prove a sticking point for David Moyes’ side.

And that could open the door up for Aston Villa to strike. The 90-goal striker has previously enjoyed a spell with Villa in the past.

During the 2018/19 season, he scored 25 times in 37 appearances as Villa won promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs.

Whilst at Villa Park, he formed a strong bond with Villa talisman Grealish. The pair have also played together for England U21s, so go back a long way.

And it’s now claimed Grealish is ‘very keen’ on the deal and believes he can convince Abraham to return to the club this summer.

Indeed, former Villa star Alan Hutton also thinks Villa will target a new striker this summer with Wesley departing. Furthermore, speaking to Football Insider, he believes Abraham will be targeted.

“If you’re going to let Wesley go, surely he’s going to have to bring someone in,” Hutton said.

“They’ve only got Ollie Watkins and Keinan Davis, really. Watkins has played a lot of minutes this season. To let one of your strikers go, you need to be thinking: ‘Right. We’re going to need to bring someone in.’

“Whether that’s going to be someone to challenge Ollie Watkins, like a Tammy Abraham – I can see that – or someone of that ilk. That, or you’re going to look to bring in a squad player. It’s definitely an interesting situation.”

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Villa urged to snap up West Brom star

Villa, meanwhile, have been urged by Emile Heskey to target a move for talented West Brom winger Matheus Pereira.

Pereira, 25, was one of the shining lights in an otherwise dismal campaign for the Baggies that ended in relegation. Sam Allardyce was unable to work his magic and Albion plunged into the Championship after one season in the top flight.

Heskey feels he will have plenty of suitors after the way he has performed. And the former Villa striker believes he would flourish under Dean Smith.

“I think he’s done fantastic. I think he would suit the way Aston Villa play because he’s very much a counter-attacking kind of football player,” he told HITC.

“From tenth-place down, I’m sure Pereira will have plenty of suitors. During the second half of the season, he just kicked on and produced some really, really good football.”

READ MORE: Pundit urges Villa to snap up relegated star

 

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