Aston Villa are keen to swoop for a Manchester City player if one of their Europa League heroes moves on this summer, according to the Daily Mail.

Unai Emery’s side won their first piece of European silverware since 1982 with a 3-0 win over SC Freiburg last week. They also secured fourth spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Manchester City in their final game of the season.

Qualifying for the Champions League will give Villa greater wiggle room with the Premier League’s financial rules as they now plan to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

They are still facing the prospect of selling some big names, with Morgan Rogers one player who could leave the club. Arsenal are the latest side to express an interest in the England international.

Aston Villa target Man City goalkeeper James Trafford

Another player who could depart this summer is goalkeeper Emi Martinez. The 2022 World Cup winner is under contract at Villa Park until 2029 but was the subject of interest from Manchester United last summer.

The Red Devils opted to sign Senne Lammens in a deadline day deal with Martinez remaining at Villa. The goalkeeper was dropped by Emery as speculation mounted over his future but after the window shut he worked his way back into the squad. He kept a clean sheet in the Europa League final and played a total of 49 games in all competitions.

According to The Daily Mail, Man City goalkeeper James Trafford is Villa’s number one target if Martinez departs this summer.

Trafford joined City 12 months ago and looked poised to be their new number one. However, he has found himself playing second fiddle this season after Pep Guardiola made a late summer swoop for Gianluigi Donnarumma, as the ex-AC Milan star made a surprise exit from European champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Any move for Trafford could be complicated by his £100,000-a-week wages.

Aston Villa eyeing a busy summer

Villa have this week emerged as contenders to sign Newcastle United star Harvey Barnes as Emery seeks further additions to his attacking options.

The Magpies player could be tempted by the lure of Champions League football, while his family are still based in the Midlands.

Meanwhile, there is also the possibility that a permanent deal is completed for Jadon Sancho. The ex-Borussia Dortmund man is out of contract at parent club Manchester United next month and would be available on a free transfer.

Harry Wilson, who is also set to be available on a free transfer, is another player of interest to Villa. The Welsh international has not penned fresh terms with Fulham and is attracting interest from several Premier League clubs.

Manchester City are continuing with their push to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest but Manchester United remain in the race for the player, according to Fabrizio Romano.

While Man City and Man United battle, the former Newcastle United midfielder is preparing to head to the World Cup with England and is expected to form a key part of Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Anderson played in all 38 of Forest’s Premier League games this season and was a key part of the side that reached the Europa League semi-final.

Reports earlier this week indicated City were keen to wrap up a deal as soon as this week but transfer expert Romano has now given a fresh update on the player’s potential move to Manchester.

Man City ‘favourites’ to sign Man Utd target Elliot Anderson

In an update on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that United are still “calling and calling” as they remain in the race for Anderson.

However, their local rivals City “have always been favourites to sign the player” with the FA Cup winners laying the groundwork for the deal in the last few months.

Romano said: “Manchester City are still pushing and I told you in March they have always been favourites to sign Elliot Anderson. They remain on it. They already made some approaches because they want to offer a really important contract to the player, so Man City believe they can really tempt EIliot Anderson.”

City won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in Pep Guardiola’s final season at the club but ended the campaign seven points behind Premier League winners Arsenal while they were dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, losing 5-1 on aggregate to the Spanish giants.

They are now out to strengthen their squad with Enzo Maresca expected to take charge of the club.

Elliot Anderson could be ready-made replacement for Rodri

Recent reports in Spain have indicated Real Madrid are keen to sign Rodri, with the La Liga outfit eager to capitalise on Guardiola’s exit from the Etihad Stadium.

Anderson could be the perfect replacement for City if Rodri was to make the move to Spain. At 23-years-old, Anderson still has his best years ahead of him and already has a similar profile to Rodri.

According to statistics from Data MB, Anderson outshines Rodri when it comes to winning possession, while Rodri has a better duel success rate.

The pair are very closely matched in terms of key passes, progressive passes and ball carrying and with Anderson doing a lot of hard defensive yards for Forest, City will be encouraged by the amount of work he does going forward.

It has been widely reported that Anderson is expected to cost more than £100million with the likes of Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo moving between Premier League clubs for a similar amount in recent years.

Ronald Koeman has named his final 26-man Netherlands squad for the 2026 summer World Cup, with Virgil van Dijk headlining.

Netherlands, who are yet to win the World Cup despite finishing runner-up on three occasions, have been placed in Group F for this summer’s tournament.

They will open up their campaign on June 14 when they face Japan at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. They will face Sweden four days later in Houston before concluding their group stage with a clash against Tunisia in Kansas City.

Oranje will fancy their chances of becoming world champions for the first time this summer and, when you look at their squad, they certainly have a chance.

Goalkeepers

Koeman has chosen three goalkeepers with Premier League experience. Mark Flekken was Brentford’s starting goalkeeper for two seasons before departing for Bayer Leverkusen this summer.

He has been named in the squad alongside Robin Roefs, who enjoyed a fine debut season in England’s top tier with Sunderland, and Brighton and Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen. The latter has already picked up 27 caps for his country and is expected to be their starter this summer.

Defenders

Netherlands’ strength is arguably their defence. Van Dijk is regarded as one of the best centre-backs in Premier League history and will be determined to lead his country to success. It will likely be his last attempt at World Cup glory.

Man City defender Nathan Ake features in the squad, as does Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber, Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven and Brighton & Hove Albion duo Jan Paul van Hecke and Mats Wieffer.

Denzel Dumfries is a menace going forward and features, while there’s also a spot for Chelsea’s talented youngster Jorrel Hato.

There’s no place for Manchester United’s Matthijs de Ligt. The 26-year-old, who has been capped 52 times by his country, has not played since November due to a back injury. Liverpool’s Jeremie Frimpong also misses out.

Midfielders

Frenkie De Jong was pivotal in Barcelona’s La Liga triumph this season. He is expected to start in the middle of midfield for the Netherlands this summer, alongside Man City’s Tijjani Reijnders and Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch.

Two midfielders from Serie A feature in Oranje’s squad: Juventus’ Teun Koopmeiners and Atalanta’s Marten De Roon. There’s also a place for Quinten Timber, twin brother of Jurrien, and PSV star Guus Til.

Xavi Simons misses out after rupturing his ACL against Wolves in late April.

Forwards

While Netherlands are stacked in defence and midfield, they don’t quite have the same strength of depth going forward. Still, they have enough attacking quality to fire them to glory this summer.

Netherlands’ all-time top goal scorer, Memphis Depay, has been given a place in the squad. The 32-year-old, who now plays in Brazil with Corinthians, has hit the back of the net 55 times for his country.

Gakpo will no doubt start for his side this summer, if fully fit. He has an impressive strike record of 19 goals in 48 international games.

There’s also a place in the squad for Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey, West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville, Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert, Ajax’s Wout Weghorst, Roma’s Donyell Malen and Galatasaray’s Noa Lang.