Aston Villa are in the process of finalising an agreement with Everton to sign Amadou Onana.
A deal worth in the region of £50million is close, while personal terms have been agreed between Villa and the 22-year-old on a long-term contract.
A key target for manager Unai Emery ahead of Villa’s entry into Champions League football next season, Onana is known to be enthusiastic about playing for the Spaniard and his team.
Everton’s position is that the sale of Onana means they would not sell Jarrad Branthwaite this summer, barring any hugely substantial offers for the centre-back.
Everton believe Branthwaite, who narrowly missed out on a place in England’s squad for the European Championship, in the same bracket as fellow central defenders Harry Maguire, Wesley Fofana and Josko Gvardiol, all of whom were sold in recent summers for fees over £75million.
The club have already rejected two offers from Manchester United for the 22-year-old this summer, with the most recent being worth £45million plus £5m in add-ons.
Onana has grown into a key player for Everton, making 72 appearances — including 37 last season in all competitions — since joining from Lille for initial £30m in the summer of 2022.
The Athletic reported Everton are aware that the average spend on midfielders of Onana’s calibre has been between £60-70million in recent years and have been hoping to recoup a similar fee.
The French club are entitled to 20 per cent of the profit made on any sale.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United have previously been credited with an interest, while Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also known admirers.
Onana had been participating with Belgium in the European Championship this summer, but his nation were knocked out by France in the last 16 stage of the tournament.
Villa have brought in two central midfielders this summer with the additions of Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus and Ross Barkley from Luton Town, while Douglas Luiz departed for Juventus and Tim Iroegbunam joined Everton.
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