Aston Villa have been linked with a sensational January transfer swoop for two of the Championship’s top talents.
AFC Bournemouth winger David Brooks is said to be on a transfer wish list drawn up by Villa head coach Dean Smith which also includes Reading starlet Michael Olise reports the Mirror, BirminghamLive‘s sister title.
Brooks is in his third campaign at Bournemouth having joined the south-coast club from Sheffield United for almost £12 million.
The Wales international, born in Warrington, finished off his development at the Blades having spent a decade at Manchester City’s academy.
Brooks scored seven goals and registered five assists in the 2018-19 Premier League campaign, his first in the top tier, but last season was beset by an ankle injury.
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He missed every game played before Project Restart but was not able to save the Cherries from relegation after lockdown, scoring one goal in nine appearances.
The 23 year-old began the current season with an injury but appears to have got over that, scoring three goals and registering five assists for promotion-chasing Bournemouth who sit in third place after 22 games.
It is being claimed that, despite a significant outlay on fresh talent since promotion in 2019, Villa are keen on adding more new faces to the squad.
A winger by trade, Brooks would compete with Anwar El Ghazi and Bertrand Traore who have deputised for the injured Trezeguet well.
Olise is being linked too; the Reading winger has also been interesting Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and Leeds United.
The France Under-18 international has scored four goals and registered eight assists from the wings for the Royals, who like Bournemouth are also gunning for promotion.
The Mirror are reporting that Smith wants to add young players who can improve further to his ranks as evidenced by the moves for Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins from the Championship in the summer.
