Welcome to BirminghamLive's coverage of all things Aston Villa - lets start with an odd one

Bizarre

Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini is interesting three Premier League clubs.

That’s according to Italian website Calciomercato who claim he has offers from Tottenham, Everton and Villa’s local rivals Wolves.

Gollini has come a long way since his days of struggle at Villa Park. Brought to the club by compatriot Roberto Di Matteo, he quickly fell out of favour under Steve Bruce.

After just 20 appearances for the club he was loaned to Atalanta and signed permanently a year later.

Since then he has gone on to star for the Serie A outfit, helping them reach the knockout stages of the Champions League in 2020.

That earned him a full cap for Italy and now 26-years-old he kept ten clean sheets last season and the report claims Atalanta think they can ask for €20 million for the ‘keeper.

However, the link seems spurious with Wolves having just replaced Rui Patricio with fellow Portuguese Jose Sa.

Everton meanwhile will welcome back Jordan Pickford after his heroics with the England team and Spurs have Hugo Lloris as their long-standing first choice.

Bjorn again

Bjorn Engels has detailed just how difficult he found a combination of not playing regularly for Aston Villa and the effect of the pandemic and closed stadiums.

The 26-year-old left Villa to sign for Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp at the end of last season, bringing to an end a challenging couple of years in the UK.

Originally things went pretty well as he signed from Reims and went on to make 17 Premier League appearances.

However, the shutdown interrupted the 2019/2020 campaign, and he started last season with an injury and was unable to get past the competition of Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause.

And in an interview with Sport Magazine, via Sport Witness, he described how the Covid-19 pandemic undermined his time at Villa.

“During my first season, I felt very good in England. But the Covid messed that up,” he said.

Wayne's whirl

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson has warned Wayne Hennessey he has no chance of playing for Aston Villa.

The 34-year-old is a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace at the end of last season.

That brought the curtain down on a seven-year stay at Selhurst Park and the Wales international is currently looking for a new club.

Villa have been linked after Tom Heaton left to rejoin Manchester United - leaving Dean Smith with a vacancy in his goalkeeping department.

Burnley are claimed to be favourites to sign a player who has won 96 caps for his country. while Chelsea have also been credited with an interest.

But ex-England ‘keeper Robinson reckons a move to Villa would jeopardise his international place.

“Hennessey will not have a shortage of takers because of his experience,” he told Football Insider.

“He is not a first choice goalkeeper. If he is to move to a Premier League club he will go in as a solid number two, someone who can do a job.

“Villa need to replace Heaton so a move for Hennessey would make a lot of sense."

Hot tip

Aston Villa have made a promising start to their transfer business this summer, and have been linked with a host of names that could really improve Dean Smith's squad.

With a few more additions, Villa could stake their claim for Europa League qualification after an 11th-placed finish last season.

Emiliano Buendia has already joined the club in a £33m deal from Norwich City, while Ashley Young has returned on a free transfer after leaving Inter Milan.

Villa are bookmakers' favourites to sign three more players, each of them an attack-minded player from a Premier League rival.

Tammy Abraham - 2/1

Abraham is no stranger to Villa, having played such a key role as the club earned promotion to the Premier League in 2018-19.

The England international striker scored 25 goals in 37 league games for Villa that year, a season which helped him kick on and break into the senior side at Chelsea.

Abraham scored just six goals in 22 league games last season, though, and has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge for a number of weeks.

He is a player who is already familiar with Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath, something which would help Dean Smith as the 23-year-old would need little time to settle in.

James Ward-Prowse - 5/2

Of all the players who could strengthen the Villa midfield, Ward-Prowse might be one of the club's best options.

The 26-year-old has over 300 Premier League appearances to his name and would add to Villa's quota of homegrown players.

Tour time

Aston Villa fans have offered their reaction to reports Dean Smith's side are keen on a move for AFC Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma.

Danjuma has been the subject of transfer interest from Spanish side Villarreal this summer and reports over the weekend claimed that Bournemouth had rejected a £13 million bid for the player.

The 24 year-old scored 17 times and registered eight assists in 37 games last season as Bournemouth missed out on promotion to the Premier League after relegation the season before.

According to website Football League World, Villa are interested in the winger along with a clutch of other clubs.

Danjuma, meanwhile, is said to prefer a move back to Europe having joined Bournemouth from Club Brugge in 2019.

Villa look to have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Arsenal starlet Emile Smith Rowe with the 20 year-old set to sign a new contract with Mikel Arteta's side.

So far this summer Villa have added Emiliano Buendia and Ashley Young from Norwich City and Inter Milan respectively but they could move for another attacking option.

Trezeguet remains sidelined and he will be well into the season after undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury in April.

Danjuma primarily plays on the left-hand side of Bournemouth's attack and said earlier this year: "I am a very ambitious athlete, I feel there is a huge part of me where I can prove myself in the Premier League. I was unfortunate in the previous season with a couple of injuries, I bounced back this season straight away."

Some Villa fans have offered their reaction to the link on social media.

"Villa going on a European tour," one wrote while another said: "Get him."

Parlour games

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour claims Aston Villa fans would be delighted to bag £100m for Jack Grealish - and says even if he left he would still be a club legend.

Speaking to Talksport this morning, Parlour was discussing the future of Villa's talisman who has been continually linked with a switch to the Etihad.

Villa have no plans to sell Grealish and no talks have been opened with City over a potential mega-money move with boss Dean Smith hoping his talisman will pen fresh terms on a new deal.

But despite Villa's insistence that the England star is going nowhere, Parlour believes that if Grealish did leave, Villa fans would still hold him in the highest regard.

"It's great news for Villa fans if he does stay," he said.

"We all know what a special talent he is.

"But the deal will suit both parties if he does leave.

Red rival

Liverpool have been tipped to beat Aston Villa to the signing of Czech Republic international striker Patrik Schick.

According to the bookies, Schick is 6/1 to make the switch to Anfield with Villa being priced at 8/1 to land the forward who shone at Euro 2020.

His stunning goal against Scotland, an outrageous lob, won the goal of the tournament and his performances have put him on the radar of clubs across Europe.

And SkyBet claim that the Reds and Villa are among the sides vying for his services in their latest round of updated odds.

The Bayern Leverkusen forward has spoken before of his desire to play in the Premier League having given an interview about his desire to move to England.

He spoke not long before he helped RB Leipzig outclass Tottenham while he spent time on loan at the club in Round of 16 in the Champions League.

He claimed that a move to the Premier League would be something that interests him, and also spoke of previously rejecting approaches from both Crystal Palace and Everton in the division.

Schick told iSport.cz : “When I left the Czech Republic, my dream was to play in Italy and I achieved that."

Tammy latest

Aston Villa fans have told Chelsea they are "having a laugh" over a £50m demand for striker Tammy Abraham.

Reports last night claimed the Blues are willing to offer the forward to Borussia Dortmund as a makeweight in a deal to land Erling Haaland.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich is willing to significantly back Thomas Tuchel in the transfer market this summer with Haaland and Euro 2020 star Federico Chiesa on their hitlist.

And they are eager to pull off a stunning coup by landing Haaland who is considered one of the most feared strikers in European football along with PSG star Kylian Mbappe.

To help make the deal happen, Chelsea are willing to throw Abraham in as part of the deal with the forward having been deemed surplus to requirements.

It is believed that Chelsea value Abraham at £50m and that has stunned Villa fans who had hoped he would be making his way to B6 this summer to help add strength in depth to their attack.

The Fabled Sage: "What you need to ask yourself is this, are Villa desperate for a striker? No, so although Tammy may be valued at 50 million by Chelsea he may not be worth that much to Villa and the club will only pay what they see as fair value, we have the cash to look elsewhere if need be."