After signing Lucas Digne on a permanent deal and Philippe Coutinho on loan, Aston Villa have now been linked with a move for Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma.

After news of their interest surfaced, it was reported by The Athletic that the Seagulls have no intention of selling the player this month but would consider a bid of around £50m for the 25-year-old.

With this in mind, it seems as though a claim has now emerged which should excite a lot of Villa supporters.

What's the latest?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Dean Jones had this to say regarding Villa's reported interest in the Brighton ace: "The Bissouma interest is real and Villa aren’t put off by his price tag.

"They’ve wanted him since the start of the window and have been able to show him how ambitious they are - so there is growing confidence this could happen."

Fans will be buzzing

Since joining Brighton back in 2018 from Lille in a deal worth a reported fee of around £15m, the Mali international - who is currently valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt - has gone on to make 111 appearances for Graham Potter’s team across all competitions, highlighting his importance to Brighton on the pitch and why they would only accept a hefty bid for him in any potential transfer deal.

This season has seen Bissouma prove why the club have put such a lofty price tag on him, with the 25-year-old earning himself an overall performance rating of 7.13 from WhoScored. That comfortably makes him Brighton's highest-rated player and would put him incredibly close to topping Villa's rankings too if it weren't for John McGinn, who has a rating of 7.14/10.

Given how Villa have not been shy in spending money to bring new players to the club such as Digne or the trio of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia during last summer's transfer window, that certainly makes a big-money move for Bissouma a possibility.

With reports suggesting that Villa's owners would provide financial backing for Gerrard in the transfer window, a potential move for the Brighton beast this month would certainly show just how much they are willing to invest in the squad, given how a £50m transfer for the midfield would smash through their current transfer record of £33m that they spent on Buendia.

Considering that the Mali midfielder could well be one of Villa's best performers, given his WhoScored rating in the context of Gerrard's current squad, fans of the Midlands club could be buzzing to hear that there is "growing confidence" of landing the 25-year-old.

In other news: Villa have “agreement” for £13k-p/w ace with a “big presence”, Gerrard will be elated