Aston Villa are reportedly ready to rival fellow Premier League side Leeds United for the signing of Burnley defender Nathan Collins.
According to talkSPORT, Burnley defender Nathan Collins is being courted by three Premier League clubs following the Clarets’ relegation to the EFL Championship. Leeds United, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers are all said to be showing interest in the 21-year-old.
Burnley returned to the Championship after six seasons in the Premier League and are now fighting to keep hold of their best players. After parting ways with Sean Dyche in April, the Clarets had appointed Mike Jackson as the caretaker manager.
The club have now found a permanent solution for the post with Vincent Kompany being appointed as the full-time manager. The former Manchester City captain is eager to build his defence around Nathan Collins after losing two first-choice centre-backs this summer.
Both Ben Mee and James Tarkowski are set to leave the club when their contracts expire on July 1. The former is still being linked with a few Premier League clubs, with Aston Villa and Everton monitoring his situation. Tarkowski, meanwhile, looks set to join Everton.
21-year-old Collins has shown promise recently, and Kompany hopes to keep hold of him. However, he is attracting serious interest from Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Leeds United, which could make things tricky for the Belgian tactician.
Collins joined Burnley just last season from Stoke City and was quite impressive, starting 18 matches in the top-flight. He still has three years left on his contract and the EFL Championship outfit could demand a hefty fee if they do allow the defender to leave.
Steven Gerrard is keen on bringing in an upgrade to the current centre-back partnership of Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings after Aston Villa’s defensive struggles last season. The Villans are also after Collins’s teammate Mee to keep their options open should they fail to land their primary target
Leeds United, on the other hand, narrowly avoided relegation and are eager to strengthen in multiple positions. Collins has some Premier League experience under his belt, and with his age on his side, he could turn out to be a solid signing for Leeds.
