Aston Villa are poised to make a shock move for West Bromwich Albion winger Matt Phillips according to Football Insider.
The Premier League new boys have been increasingly active in this summer’s transfer window and are in the midst of making their 11th capture with the signing of Marvelous Nakamba from Brugge.
However, it appears that Dean Smith’s business may not yet be done as they plan to make a bold move for Matt Phillips currently at local rivals West Brom.
The 28-year-old is an integral player for the Championship side with his pace, direct style of play and ability to score goals and create assists for his teammates.
Throughout this transfer window, the Baggies have lost a wealth of experience with the departures of Craig Dawson and Jay Rodriguez as well as the releases of James Morrison and Gareth Barry. Phillips has played an abundance of games at this level and they will be desperate to retain one of their star players.
The winger has suffered with injuries throughout his time at the Hawthorns but in particular last season his presence was sorely missed whenever he was unable to play.
West Brom will no doubt play hardball over Phillips but they do need to be wise to the fact that he is entering the final year of his contract at the Hawthorns and they could be forced to cash in on him rather than risk allowing him to run down his contract.
The former QPR man has renowned Premier League experience and despite the amount of signings that Aston Villa have made, a great deal of them don’t have English football experience at the highest level.
Phillips hasn’t expressed any desire to leave the club, rather he has stated that he is looking forward to the upcoming season with the Baggies but with West Brom managing to fend off interest in Phillips in the last two transfer windows, they are bracing themselves for an offer from Villa before the transfer window closes on August 8th.
