Berbatov in shock Villa link

Dimitar Berbatov is on "the brink of joining Aston Villa", it is reported tomorrow.

Stan Petrov is said to have told Tim Sherwood that the mercurial forward wants one last crack at the Premier League.

The move seems unlikely with Jordan Ayew just through the door and Adebayor about to hook up with Villa on a season long loan deal.

Berbatov is a free agent after being released by Monaco.

Guzan and Tonev up for cut price sale?

Those knobheads at Daily Mail are reporting that Brad Guzan is surplus to requirements at Villa Park, and Villa will let him go for £3 million.

They also report, with probably more creditability, that Tonev is set for the exit door. No surprise there since he never managed to win over the Villa faithful and was branded a racist while on loan at Celtic.

If the tales about Guzan are true, Timbo either has massive faith in recent acquisition Mark Bunn and young Jed Steer or he must have another keeper in his sites.

You could understand if Brad Guzan was unhappy having been jettisoned from the first team by Tim Sherwood last term, while it was made publicly known that the club was tracking Begovic before he buggered off to bench warm at Chelsea

Villa to sign Emmanuel?

Aston Villa are being strongly linked with Tottenham spare part Emmanuel Adebayor in a move that could see the enigmatic striker re-unite with former manager Tim Sherwood.

With goals hard to come by for much of last season, Villa need to boost their attacking options this summer and, with Christian Benteke looking likely to piss off up north, they’re targeting Adebayor as a replacement, according to reports.

Once a true attacking force at Arsenal, the Togo striker had a brief revival during Sherwood’s stint at White Hart Lane in 2014 and so signing him is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Spurs are said to be looking for a £5 million fee, though some reports suggest they 'd give the player a pay-off which would enable him to lower his heft salary demands.

Villa in Sergi Darder Link (again)

Sergi Darder, the Spanish midfielder who plies his trade with Malaga is close to signing for Aston Villa if Italian media reports can be believed. Big IF.

They report that a deal is being done with Malaga for a figure close to ten million Euros.

Darder has long been linked with a string of Italian clubs and was said to have been a Paul Lambert target last summer.

Song for Gueye?

Aston Villa have agreed a transfer fee of £9m for Lille midfielder Idrissa Gueye , if "Sky sources" can be believed...

Gueye has been linked with several other Premier League clubs, with Southampton, West Ham United and Crystal Palace in the chase, but Villa are reported agreed a fee with Lille and hope to finalise the signing of the 25-year-old within the next 24 hours.

We  should be careful about these reports though, as just yesterday it was reported that Gueye was bound for Marseille.

Chery?

Aston Villa are said to be in the box seat in the chase for Groningen winger Tjaronn Chery.

Villa are reported to be in talks for 27-year-old's signature, and are haggling over the Dutch club's asking price.

Chery scored 17 goals last season, 15 of wihich were  in the Eredivisie, and served up 12 assists in all competitions.

Villa in the hunt for Asmir Begovic?

Save!

Villa's recruitment team are said to be in the hunt for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic's signature.

The Bosnia shot stopper is high on title winners Chelsea's shopping list but Villa hope to snare the keeper with the offer of regular first team football. Brad Guzan lost his place to aging Shay Given at the back end of last term.

If Begovic buggers off to Chelsea he's likely to be behind Thibaut Courtois, who has cemented his position as first-choice between the sticks at Stamford Bridge.

The 28-year-old rocked up at the Britannia Stadium in 2010 from Portsmouth and has cemented his reputation as one of the Premier League's best goalkeepers and a key reason Stoke are consistently mid-table.

He has made over 160 appearances for the Potters and has 41 caps for Bosnia.

His signing would likely mean the end of the road for Shay Given, while Guzan might not want to hang about either if he feels he's been replaced.