Dean Smith would love to have Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie at Aston Villa, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

McKennie had been linked with a move to Villa last summer but ended up joining Juventus on loan from Schalke before signing permanently for the Serie A giants.

However, the £22.5m-rated USA international could be on the move again, with transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio recently reporting that Juventus are open to a sale after signing Euro 2020 star Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo.

It remains to be seen what happens with McKennie, but Hatfield is fairly certain that he is a player Smith would still take. He told FFC:

"I'm sure Dean Smith would love him at Villa. The question I suppose is where does he fit in?

"I think Villa really do need a defensive midfielder and you could stick Weston McKennie there, but he seems very much the type who wants to be kind of bustling around and getting forward."

McKennie was a regular for Juventus last season, has not been at the Allianz Stadium for too long and is still young so has time to develop into a better player, so it is a surprise that Juventus are willing to let him go.

Of course, they do have a new manager in Massimiliano Allegri and have obviously just brought in Locatelli.