Aston Villa are eyeing a sensational summer swoop for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha.

What’s the latest on Joao Palhinha to Aston Villa?

According to Football Insider, Unai Emery’s side are “willing to match” Fulham’s £60m price tag and are prepared to table an offer that would break the club’s record transfer fee.

However, it will be an extremely difficult deal for the Midlands outfit to complete, due to the Portuguese’s insurmountable importance to Fulham and the interest of other clubs including Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea.

Nevertheless, this outlet previously revealed that Villa are confident that they have the financial resources to compete with the Premier League giants.

Emery is understood to be a “huge fan” of the player, who he views as an upgrade to his current starting line up and the board is willing to support the coach with a host of ambitious signings.

Villa are currently on the cusp of European football, and the promise of this and regular first-team action could be enough to tempt the coveted talent to join their ranks.

Although Palhinha is contracted until 2027, the west Londoners have grown “increasingly worried” that the player may be inclined to depart Craven Cottage.

Why does everyone want Joao Palhinha?

The 27-year-old joined the Cottagers from Sporting Lisbon for a modest fee of £20m and has quickly established himself as one of the league’s most commanding and influential gems.

In his debut season in England, the 20-cap international has made 32 Premier League appearances, notching three goals and an average rating of 6.98, which is the second-highest in the Fulham squad.

The powerhouse has emerged as a formidable midfielder and indeed as one of the top-flight’s most effective and authoritative pivots as he has made the most tackles (139) in the division, and is over 40 tackles ahead of Moises Caicedo in second (93).

This has also meant he ranks in the top 1% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for tackles per 90, as well as the highest 8% for clearances and aerials won per 90, according to FBref.

The signing of Palhinha would certainly be a player reminiscent of Idrissa Gueye who was a graceful yet bullish prospect in the middle of the park.

In his one season with Villa in 2015/16, the ex-PSG man averaged a mammoth 4.1 tackles per game, only marginally edged by the former Sporting Lisbon man at 4.3 for the same metric.

Both players occupy a protecting role in front of defences and are widely recognised for their ball recovery and ability to break up play.

Gary Neville has described the titan as “fantastic” and he has emerged as the spearhead of a Fulham side that is massively overachieving in their debut campaign back in the Premier League after their promotion last year.