Pundit tips rapid Villa reunion for ‘telepathic’ £40m Smith target
Former Leeds United star Noel Whelan believes Aston Villa will go all out to sign Norwich City star Todd Cantwell during the summer transfer window.
The Villans now have a substantial transfer kitty at their disposal after the sale of Jack Grealish. The England man finally completed his move to Manchester City for £100m on Thursday. Dean Smith has already been extremely active in the transfer market, making Danny Ings a surprise addition this week.
The striker arrived from Southampton out of the blue, while Emiliano Buendia was recruited – also from the Canaries. The West Midlanders have paid Bayer Leverkusen nearly £30m for winger Leon Bailey.
Villa fans will see a whole new attacking line-up at Vicarage Road for the season opener against Watford on August 14. But Smith may not be done yet, with Cantwell said to be on the radar for some time.
It has been suggested that they will need to pay the East Anglians £40m to get a deal over the line. It would see the 23-year-old schemer reunited with Buendia.
And Whelan feels it would be the perfect scenario which Villa will push for sooner rather than later.
“We know he’s a very young talented player. You’re bringing that partnership back together again with Buendia as well,” he told Football Insider.
“The two know each other very well so that that communication and telepathic play between the two of them will come straight into play. You’ll see that from day one.
“A highly-rated young player that other teams have been looking at. Again, they don’t waste any time. If they want that player, they’ll go and get him and they have done so far this summer.”
Cantwell offer to turn Norwich heads
Norwich manager Daniel Farke will not want to lose Cantwell for the upcoming campaign. The German tactician knows how tough it will be to stay in the Premier League.
The club’s last foray into the top flight lasted only one season. Cantwell played in 37 matches as Farke’s side dropped into the Championship after the 2019-2020 season.
He enjoyed 33 second-tier outings last term and scored six goals to help the Norfolk outfit gain promotion. But, with money talking in football, Whelan would not be shocked to see the youngster at Villa Park.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they use some of the Jack Grealish money to strengthen that midfield area again with Todd Cantwell,” he added. “If Norwich don’t want to sell and feel like they’ve given Villa too many good players, they could say no. They need to give themselves a chance to stay in the Premier League as well.
“It’d be very hard to turn down an offer from Aston Villa which I’m sure will be big and quite substantial.”
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