Aston Villa could sign a new Idrissa Gueye in FC Metz midfielder Pape Sarr this summer as a transfer update emerges.

What's the story?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested that Dean Smith's side are interested in signing the 18-year-old this summer, with it then being revealed that his current club seem willing to let him go for the right price.

Metz's president, Bernard Cerin, said: "All the clubs now want to buy him for cheaper. We are in the opposite situation. We want to keep him a little longer. The wish is to keep everyone - but we do not control everything. A very high offer makes it difficult for you to convince a player to stay."

And now, The Athletic have name-checked Villa as a team that have "looked at" Sarr as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the new season.

Villa's new Idrissa Gueye

Villa fans will, of course, know all about Gueye and the tenacious midfield work that he got through in his time at Villa Park, before making the move to fellow Premier League side Everton and now PSG.

In Sarr, Smith could find an exciting, younger version of the Senegal international.

The 18-year-old enjoyed a real breakthrough season with the Ligue 1 side, playing 22 times in the league, and establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet for Metz boss Frederic Antonetti.

And, Antonetti has not shied away from lavishing his midfield starlet with praise, saying: "Pape Matar Sarr is elegance in the midfield, it’s talent, it’s making others play."

He added: "He will be able to go as far as he wants to go. He must work, be as he is there, modest, regular, hardworking. He must continue to love football and he will do like the great players, he will go far. I think he will go very far."

Dubbed as someone who's "got everything" to his game, Sarr averaged an impressive two tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game, while also boasting a passing accuracy of 85.3% - compare that to Gueye who managed 2.3 tackles and 0.7 interceptions per match in Ligue 1 this season with PSG, and having a 92.6% pass accuracy.

The £25m-rated machine could arrive at Villa Park as the new man to take over the throne of Gueye.

Meanwhile, Villa are set for an exciting boost...