Aston Villa have been handed a boost in their attempts to sign PSG midfielder Rafinha in this summer transfer window.

What's the story?

According to recent reports from Spain, the Ligue 1 club are ready to let Rafinha leave this summer in order to raise some funds for their own signings, and Villa could come in for the Brazilian.

French outlet Le Parisien (via AS) have now delivered an update on the situation, saying that the midfielder is on a list of players who PSG are willing to offload this summer in order to refresh Mauricio Pochettino's squad and raise some money.

Perfect James Ward-Prowse alternative

Talking about the 27-year-old, former Barcelona team-mate Andreu Fontas once said: "Rafinha is a great player. Physically, he is a beast and, technically, he is superb."

As per WhoScored, Rafinha boasted an impressive 90.9% pass accuracy in Ligue 1 last season (considerably better than any Villa player with more than one start), while he also averaged 2.3 tackles per match as well (only Matty Cash fared better with 2.5).

The £13.5m-rated technician could bring that same fearlessness and intensity both on and off the ball to Villa Park should Smith land his man this summer.

Given reports which have previously claimed that PSG superstar Messi rates the Brazilian very highly and was completely on board with seeing the midfielder become a prominent part of Barcelona's side, that offers a real indication of just how talented he is.

With Southampton also confirming that former Villa target James Ward-Prowse has signed a new contract to stay at St Mary's, signing an equally technically gifted midfielder in Rafinha would go a decent way to forgetting about missing out on the England international.

Able to cover the ground well and snap into a challenge, as well as having the ability to dictate the tempo of a game with his metronome-like passing, Rafinha seems like an ideal midfield fit for Smith and Villa.

Meanwhile, Villa must land this "phenomenal" Euro 2020 star...