Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard could seal a late swoop for Konrad Laimer this summer in a bid to reinforce his midfield options.

It was revealed by 90min back in May that the Villans had made checks on the RB Leipzig midfielder player and are among several clubs who have been linked with him this summer, including Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

More recently, Laimer has been targeted by Bayern Munich who value him at £17m, but a move has not progressed due to midfielder Marcel Sabitzer wanting to remain with the Bundesliga champions.

The stall in this deal could pave the way for Villa to swoop in at the last minute and secure his services, with manager Gerrard confirming earlier this month that he still wants to strengthen the midfield position.

Signing a player of Laimer's quality ahead of clubs as big as United, Spurs and Bayern would be a massive coup for Villa. The player would likely prefer to move to a club who are playing in Europe, but that may not be possible.

If you compare him to his positional peers in Europe's big five league's over the last year, it's easy to see why these big names are all interested.

He ranks in the top 5% for assists and the top 6% for goal-creating actions - he's a striker's dream and could link up expertly with Philippe Coutinho at Villa Park.

He wouldn't just bring attacking quality either, with Austrian manager Adi Hutter claiming that he is "incredibly aggressive on the ball, challenges opponents very hard and brings established professionals to the ground."

Laimer's teammate at international level Marco Aurnotovic also said that he's got a bright future and praised his performance after Austria's Euro 2020 qualifying win over North Macedonia, saying: "To cover that amount of ground is crazy."

Whilst Villa can't offer European football, he would be a focal point and one of their best players. The opportunity to be coached by one of the best midfielders to have ever graced the Premier League in Gerrard would also be attractive.

He's only 25 years old so is still yet to hit his prime, moving to Villa could be a great stepping stone and would guarantee game time which would help develop his career in the best way possible.

He's also entering the final year of his contract, so if a deal with Bayern can't be found, Leipzig would likely be willing to offload him to Villa rather than lose him for nothing next summer.

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