An update has emerged on Burnley winger Dwight McNeil, amid interest from Aston Villa. 

What's the talk?

According to Burnley publication Pendle Today, Burnley are yet to receive an enquiry or offer for Aston Villa target Dwight McNeil this summer. No club has touched base with the Premier League side over a potential deal for the England under-21 international, who Burnley are said to value at £30m.

Football Insider reported last month that Dwight McNeil is a player who is of interest to Villa. Dean Smith was said to be preparing an offer for McNeil, who is reportedly one of the club's top transfer targets this summer.

Back in 2020, Burnley manager Sean Dyche hailed the “outstanding” winger and labeled him as one of the best young players in England. He told the Burnley Express:

“On a platform like today, I thought Dwight McNeil was outstanding.
“He has got to be one of the top talents in the country for me at the moment. The game is getting away from you and it is a hard day at the office, and he was different class.
“You could give him the ball and he was dribbling past three or four different players and carrying it.
“He was absolutely different class for me.”

Fans would love it

Johan Lange must now firm up Aston Villa's interest in McNeil as fans would love it if the club managed to snap him up. Villa have already secured a deal to sign Emi Buendia from Norwich and McNeil could further strengthen their attacking unit behind Ollie Watkins, with Bertrand Traore and Jack Grealish already at the club. The Burnley winger could offer a different option to the likes of Traore and Grealish in the wide areas, as they tend to drift inside onto their stronger foot, whilst McNeil is a left-footed player who plays out on the left.

This means that McNeil could drive Villa up the pitch and get to the byline to put crosses in to Watkins and whoever else makes a run into the box, be it John McGinn, Traore or Douglas Luiz. Dean Smith would then have the option to switch up how Villa want to attack their opponents, be it from the start or off the bench, and this is why McNeil could be an excellent addition. McNeil has proven himself at Premier League level, with four goals and 11 assists since the start of the 2019/20 campaign for Burnley.

Villa now need to test the water and see how receptive Burnley are to any offers. As the initial report claimed, Burnley have not been tested as of yet and there is no harm in Villa putting out the feelers with an offer for the youngster. Worst case scenario, Lange wastes a few hours and then moves on to other targets. Best case scenario, Villa are able to tempt Burnley into a sale and Smith gains another talented forward player.

AND in other news, Lange must sanction Villa deal for "outstanding" 65-cap "leader", Dean Smith needs him...