Aston Villa are reportedly closing in on a shock big-money move for Amadou Onana, a player frequently linked with Arsenal in recent times.

Widespread reports on Saturday morning claimed the Champions League-bound Villains were on the verge of completing a high-profile £50million deal with Everton for the Belgian international midfielder.

Such a transfer would be a huge coup for Villa, with Onana having been mentioned in connection with a move to Arsenal over recent months as a potential replacement for Thomas Partey amid links to several other high-profile clubs including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, among others.

Unai Emery’s side beat Tottenham to fourth place in the Premier League table last season to seal a first return to the Champions League since 1983, with the focus now on strengthening their squad significantly for a campaign in Europe’s revamped elite club competition.

Villa have already signed Dutch left-back Ian Maatsen from Chelsea so far this summer in a deal worth £37.5m, while they also brought Ross Barkley back from relegated Luton and welcomed Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus as part of a deal that saw Douglas Luiz head to Turin.

They also sold Omari Kellyman to Chelsea and dealt with Everton for the signing of Lewis Dobbin and sale of Timothy Iroegbunam, with Philippe Coutinho, Nicolo Zaniolo, Clement Lenglet, Morgan Sanson and Calum Chambers among their other summer exits so far.

Onana would help fill the void left by the departure of long-serving Brazil star Luiz, with the player having impressed for Everton in 72 appearances across all competitions since moving to Goodison Park from French side Lille in a £33m deal in the summer of 2022.

The Senegal-born former Hoffenheim and Hamburg midfielder has 17 senior international caps for Belgium to date, playing in every game for Domenico Tedesco’s team at Euro 2024, where they were ousted in the last 16 by France after finishing second behind Romania in Group E.

Belgium apologised after deleting a video published on their social media accounts in which Onana appeared to say that he would tackle France superstar Kylian Mbappe ‘on the shin’, while the midfielder also went viral during the tournament for another video in which he showcased his flawless English accent while correcting a reporter who had gotten his name wrong.

Onana’s move to Villa could be bad news for Manchester United, with Everton perhaps now even less inclined to cash in on England defender Jarrad Branthwaite following multiple failed bids from the Red Devils.