A potential deal for Aston Villa to sign Matteo Guendouzi from Marseille may not happen as it has dragged on for a while, transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed.

What's the word?

The France international is being eyed up by Unai Emery, who initially brought him to the Premier League at Arsenal in 2018, and a deal looks to be on the cards.

However, despite links throughout the month, there seems to be no progress on a transfer for the 24-year-old, and with just a few days remaining in the window, it is unclear whether he will make the move.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Jones claimed that he is wary that a deal may not happen, given how long it has taken until now.

"The Guendouzi one's dragged on a little bit now, so I'm probably a little more sceptical of whether that's actually going to happen," he stated when asked about the deal.

Creative quality

Guendouzi has been outstanding since joining Marseille last year, and can add some creative quality to Villa's midfield.

If he reunites with Emery, he could return to the Premier League as a more mature player than when he left, and ranks highly in attacking penalty area touches as per FBref, as well as providing a good level of attacking output.

He provided 14 assists last season, having moulded his game to a more attacking role than the one he played at Arsenal, where he provided just five assists in 82 appearances.

Whilst he can provide a lot of quality, it will be down to Emery to help Guendouzi flourish back in England, as his last spell here ended with him being exiled from the Arsenal squad due to discipline issues.