An update has emerged on Aston Villa target Matheus Pereira, regarding a bid from Al-Hilal... 

What's the talk?

According to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, Al Hilal have made an initial offer of £5.9m (€7m) to West Brom for Aston Villa target Matheus Pereira. Konur claims Al Hilal are currently locked in talks with the Championship club and have already fired their opening salvo.

Earlier this summer, Aston Villa were linked with interest in the Brazilian playmaker alongside Premier League rivals West Ham.

Forget Smith-Rowe

It is time for Villa to forget about Emile Smith-Rowe. The Arsenal youngster is reportedly set to sign a new deal at The Emirates, putting any speculation over a move to Villa Park to bed following two unsuccessful bids from Dean Smith's side. With that deal now seemingly dead in the water, it is time to move on and focus on getting Pereira instead.

Smith-Rowe has the potential to improve at the age of 20, but Pereira is the better player in the here and now for Villa. The Arsenal man averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.77 in the Premier League, scoring twice and assisting four goals for the Gunners. Pereira, meanwhile, scored 11 and assisted six as he averaged an impressive score of 6.96 as West Brom were relegated back down to the Championship.

This suggests that the Baggies star would be the superior option for Smith in the short term at least. He has proven that he can score and assist goals on a regular basis in the top-flight, whereas Smith-Rowe is still finding his feet and developing as a player.

Former Premier League forward Noel Whelan recently claimed that the midfielder is a “fantastic” palyer.

He told Football Insider:

"He’s a fantastic player, he’s great on the ball, he can turn people inside out."

Villa fans would love to see the £39k-per-week wizard at Villa Park as he could hit the ground running and make an instant impact. This is why the club must react to Al-Hilal's offer for Pereira by tabling one of their own to show that they are serious about a swoop for his services, as it would also prove that they are moving on from Smith-Rowe.

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