Aston Villa are set to make a new offer for Emile Smith Rowe after seeing two bids rejected by Arsenal in the past month.
According to Football London, Aston Villa are reportedly preparing a third offer for Emile Smith Rowe. Arsenal have already rejected two previous bids from the Midlands club for the attacking youngster, while the outcome of the new request remains to be seen.
Aston Villa have made no secret of their desire to bring Emile Smith-Rowe to the club in recent months. After a decent finish to their season where they put in some impressive displays against top-six opposition, Villa want to improve their attacking unit ahead of the new campaign.
The club have already signed Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City for around £35 million at the start of the window. They are looking for another attack-minded player with a young age profile. It is reported that Villa had extensively scouted Smith Rowe ever since his breakthrough last season.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are looking to recruit an attacking midfielder themselves. They were interested in Buendia but missed out on the Argentine. Martin Odegaard was their primary target, but the Norwegian will stay put at Real Madrid.
Arsenal have also been linked with an ambitious move for Leicester City’s James Maddison. Apart from that, their pursuit of a No.10 has so far gone cold. In light of the club needing an attacking midfielder, the Gunners are unlikely to sanction a move for Emile Smith Rowe.
On the contrary, as widely reported, Arsenal are planning a new contract for their academy star, much similar to last summer’s agreement for fellow academy star Bukayo Saka. The player himself has reiterated his desire to succeed at the Emirates and is unlikely to demand a move to Aston Villa.
The Midlands outfit are expected to lose Jack Grealish, who is reportedly on the verge of joining Manchester City. Should the transfer go through, it will leave a gaping hole in the team and Aston Villa might be looking at Smith Rowe as a readymade replacement for their star man.
As things stand, we can expect Arsenal to reject the new reported offer from Villa outright. It remains to be seen what Villa might offer this time around, considering their previous bid was around £30 million. Even for Arsenal are to consider the prospect of Smith Rowe joining Villa, the Midlands club will have to make a huge offer, at least.
