Aston Villa interested in 26-year-old Arsenal star after injury blow - Reports
As per Estadio Deportivo, Aston Villa are interested in signing Arsenal defender Rob Holding this summer.
That comes after the Villans received a major injury blow. Diego Carlos suffered an Achilles tendon injury in their 2-1 win over Everton and will be out of action for at least nine months.
Carlos had joined Villa this summer from Sevilla for €31 million. He played 136 matches for the Spanish club and was expected to become a mainstay in Steven Gerrard's side. However, he's now almost ruled out for the season.
Diego Carlos on Instagram: “May discouragement be overcome by willpower.”
💪 https://t.co/h2GU03Zzb7
So Villa are scurrying for replacements, and Holding, 26, has popped up on their radar.
The Englishman joined Arsenal from Bolton in 2016 but is not an automatic starter in defence. He has played 138 games for the Gunners across competitions but is yet to make his season debut.
Holding could be interested in the Villa move to get more game time. If he does so, he'll be reunited with former teammate Calum Chambers, who joined Gerard's side in January this year.
As per the aforementioned report, Villa have also been linked with free agent Jason Denayer as they seek a replacement for Carlos. The Belgian's contract with Olympique Lyon expired earlier this summer. He played 139 game for the French club and contributed eight goals and three assists. Denayer has also garnered interest from other clubs, including Valencia.
Aston Villa and Arsenal's summer transfer signings so far
Both clubs have been active in the transfer window this summer. Villa made Philippe Coutinho's move permanent after he had joined them on loan from Barcelona in January.
They have also signed midfielder Boubacar Kamara from Marseille and goalkeeper Robin Olsen from AS Roma. Steven Gerrard's side added two players from Sevilla - left-back Ludwig Augustinsson (on loan) and defender Diego Carlos - too.
Villa have begun their campaign with a 2-0 loss against newly promoted Bournemouth before beating Everton 2-1.
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Arsenal, meanwhile, have made five signings this summer. They include goalkeeper Matt Turner from New England Revolution and winger Marquinhos from Sao Paulo.
The Gunners have also signed midfielder Fabio Vieira from Porto and the duo of striker Gabriel Jesus and left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. Mikel Arteta's have begun their campaign well, beating Crystal Palace 2-0 and Leicester City 4-2, trailing league leaders City only on goal difference.