Euro giants to resurrect Tottenham raid as Aston Villa transfer is torched

AC Milan are reportedly set to renew their interest in Tottenham right-back Emerson Royal but their pursuit of an Aston Villa star looks set to come to nothing.

Tottenham have been looking to offload some of their fringe players this summer, with the likes of centre-back Joe Rodon joining Leeds United, fellow defender Eric Dier left for Bayern Munich, and midfield flop Tanguy Ndombele’s sorry spell with the club finally coming to an end.

Alongside Ivan Perisic, Japhet Tanganga, and Ryan Sessegnon leaving, Spurs paid approximately £40m to sign Leeds’ Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall completed his £8.5m move from Djurgarden earlier this summer.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is inching closer to a Marseille transfer, but Royal, Sergio Reguilon, Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gill and more could be surplus to requirements, too.

While Ange Postecoglou’s side are still trying to strengthen their squad, more exits are expected; with full-back Royal one of several to have a, somewhat, underwhelming stint in north London.

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Fortunately for them, Milan appeared prepared to take the 25-year-old off Spurs’ hands, with the Serie A side reportedly offering £12.6m for Royal – whose contract expires in 2026.

Tottenham rejected that bid, however, with Daniel Levy’s team holding out for something closer to £16.8m. Just when it looked like that transfer was dead and buried, CaughtOffside claims this deal could yet be resurrected.

Milan renew Royal interest but Villa move over

The report claims Milan are set to re-open transfer talks with Spurs, with the Brazil international understood to be keen on ending his time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Personal terms are not expected to be an issue, it just remains to be seen how much Milan are willing to pay for the former Barcelona man, who has scored four goals in 101 appearances for Tottenham.

One man Milan appear not to be chasing, however, is Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash. Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris made his feelings known about the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, something that is forcing the club to sell before they can buy. 

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He told the Financial Times in June: “Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport.

“The rules do not make sense and are not good for football. Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs. It’s more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game.”

As a result, Villa considered selling Cash and although Milan made contact with the Premier League side over the Poland international, their £30m valuation was considered too high.

The aforementioned report adds that Milan will end their efforts to sign the 26-year-old, whose contract runs until the summer of 2027. And with Moussa Diaby seemingly set to join Al-Ittihad for around £50m, Cash may stay at Villa Park after all.