Aston Villa have entered the race to sign Rennes defender Lorenz Assignon, according to a report in France.
The 24-year-old already has Premier League experience under his belt after being loaned to Burnley last season – he made 15 appearances under Vincent Kompany’s tutelage. Assignon performed admirably during Burnley’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford last season when he got on the scoresheet showcasing his attacking prowess to add to his proficiency in defence.
Website Footmercato suggests that the Ligue 1 outfit would want a fee of around €10million if they were to allow the player to depart. The Frenchman also attracted interest from Serie A side AS Roma earlier this week and is even said to have had talks – no formal bid has been received from Daniele De Rossi’s side.
The right-back would face stark competition from Matty Cash, Kosta Nedeljkovic, and Kaine Kesler-Hayden if he were to arrive at Villa Park – although Cash is the only real first-team player among these names. With Villa fighting on four fronts – Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup – the player will be in with a chance of featuring often as Unai Emery’s side will likely be playing two to three times per week towards the business end of the season.
Assignon signed his first professional contract at Rennes in March 2020 before being loaned to third-tier side Bastia where he was part of a promotion-winning side. The defender hit the headlines with a last-minute-winner for Rennes in a UEFA Europa League victory over AEK Larnaca causing the French outlet L’Equipe to describe his strike as Zlatan-esque.
