Aston Villa linked with transfer window move for ‘£35 million’ striker from Premier League rivals

With Ollie Watkins struggling to find the net and no understudy available to Aston Villa, they are expected to push for a centre-forward in the January transfer window.

Villa ended their winless start to the season with a 1-0 win against Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday but captain John McGinn admitted that it was still the kind of performance the players know they need to improve upon.

The margin of victory might have been more but Watkins had a penalty save and Villa had to ride their luck when Santiago Castro hit the crossbar with a header for the Serie A side.

Unai Emery doesn’t have a real alternative for his misfiring striker. Watkins started the Bologna game on the bench and Donyell Malen got the nod up front. That’s not a sustainable option so it might be prudent to secure an understudy in the January transfer window.

According to reports, 25-year-old Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor is a potential target.

“Isidor is now valued at around the £35 million mark by Sunderland,” reports Football Insider. “Villa have scored just one Premier League goal so far this season and have made it a priority to add more firepower when the mid-season window arrives.

“The Black Cats have enjoyed a strong start to their Premier League return, with Isidor receiving high praise at Sunderland from fans and teammates alike.”

Isodor scored Sunderland’s equaliser against Villa last Sunday, his third goal in five matches this season. Sunderland wouldn’t be keen to let him go but could potentially see a benefit in selling him for a big fee after signing him for just £5 million after an initial loan from Zenit St Petersburg.

We don’t yet know how Roberto Olabe, Villa’s new president of football operations, will approach such targets and indeed whether his partnership with Emery and Damian Vidagany will bear fruit with cost-effective additions as early as January.

Isidor was vital to Sunderland’s promotion

Rennes-born Isidor made his professional debut for Monaco in 2018. Another 11 first team appearances followed by a lack of regular minutes led to a pair of loans to Laval and Borgo before a switch to Russia in 2022.

Isidor scored 19 goals in 42 appearances for Lokomotiv Moscow, including a run of seven goals in six consecutive matches. Zenit took a liking to him and he joined the serial champions, initially on loan, in 2024.

He never really got going in St Petersburg even in a double-winning side. With just four Zenit goals to his name, he was loaned to Sunderland last season and made a huge contribution to their promotion push under Régis Le Bris.

Isidor scored 13 goals in 46 matches and was a scorer as the Black Cats won the away leg of their Championship play-off semi-final tie against Coventry City.

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