Aston Villa medical due as Unai Emery closes in on first summer transfer

Aston Villa have moved closer to signing Ross Barkley after reportedly reaching a verbal agreement with Luton Town for his transfer.

Fabrizio Romano claims Luton have accepted an offer around £5m from Villa as Unai Emery closes in on his first summer transfer. The 30-year-old made 32 Premier League appearances for Luton last term and registered nine goal contributions, scoring five goals and recording four assists.

But following Luton’s relegation back to the Championship, Barkley’s spell at Kenilworth Road was cut to only one season because he wants to continue playing Premier League football following his renaissance under Rob Edwards.

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Last month, Barkley said: “I want to play in the Premier League. I want to play in Europe again … I feel like for the next three years maybe I’ll still be in my prime years.”

Barkley will soon undergo a medical ahead of signing for Villa, but the deal is not expected to be completed for some weeks yet. The summer transfer window officially opens for Premier League clubs on June 14.

He previously spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Villa under Dean Smith, but struggled to find the form he showed at the start of his spell after a hamstring injury.

After one more season at Chelsea, Barkley left the club by mutual consent in the summer of 2022 before joining Nice for the 2022/23 campaign.