Aston Villa readying offer for potential Abraham replacement

Aston Villa are planning for life without top scorer Tammy Abraham, who is on the verge a move to Wolves, with Neal Maupay already being lined up as a replacement, The Sun reports.

The club have been linked to a number of Brentford players since the appointment of Dean Smith, though there certainly seems to be some truth to the rumours of a January raid for the Bees striker.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed an excellent first half of the Championship season, scoring 15 goals and registering a further six assists. While Abraham is one of two players to have netted more times in the division thus far (16), Maupay has had a direct hand in more goals than any other player (21).

That’s despite the Frenchman’s form falling off somewhat since Smith left to take the reins at Villa, with the former Brentford boss signing the young forward from Saint Etienne for just £2m in 2017.

There’s no doubt the London club would demand a high fee for their leading scorer but Maupay has made no secret of his interest in a reunion with his old manager in a recent interview with The Independent.

“I have a really, really good relationship with Dean. So obviously if one day he calls me and says ‘Neal, I need you in my team’ I would consider it. But at this moment I can’t be focused on other things than Brentford,” Maupay stated.

“Obviously, I really liked working for him, so if one day he wants to bring me to Villa or wherever I would listen to him because he has done a lot of good things for me.”