Rodrigo Bentancur Juventus 2021-22Getty

Rodrigo Bentancur transfer to Aston Villa: Premier League club step up pursuit of Uruguay midfielder as Juventus wait on bid

Aston Villa are stepping up their interest in Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, GOAL can confirm, with the Premier League outfit sending scouts to watch the Uruguayan in action against AC Milan.

Steven Gerrard is eager to further bolster his ranks at Villa Park before the winter transfer window closes, with any business needing to be completed before the next deadline passes on January 31.

Bentancur has caught the eye of those in the West Midlands, with efforts being made to establish whether or not the 24-year-old is the right man for a fresh start in England.

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Have Aston Villa made a bid?

It is understood that no formal approach from Villa has been made as yet, with Juve still waiting on an official offer.

The Villans’ chief scout was, however, in attendance to cast an eye over Bentancur in a heavyweight Serie A encounter at San Siro on Sunday.

He saw the South American take in 89 minutes of action, with Massimiliano Allegri only replacing him with Adrien Rabiot in the closing stages of a 0-0 draw.

Bentancur’s performance will have caught the eye as he helped to contain the threat posed by Milan when working alongside Italy international Manuel Locatelli.

Could a deal be done?

Bentancur Juventus Serie AGetty

Bentancur has started 13 Serie A games for Juve this season and taken in 26 appearances across all competitions.

He is clearly part of Allegri’s plans, but an enticing offer from afar could tempt the Bianconeri into sanctioning a sale.

Villa, though, will not find it easy to reach an agreement that suits all parties, because a sell-on clause was included in the deal which took Bentancur to Turin from Boca Juniors in 2017.

That clause initially stood at 50 per cent, but has dropped slightly during the four-and-a-half years the highly-rated performer has spent in Italy.

Boca are, however, still due 35 per cent of any fee that Juve generate from the offloading of Bentancur, and that may mean that Villa have to dig deep in order to find suitable terms.

Gerrard’s side have moved up to 11th in the Premier League table, 10 points adrift of the top six, and will not be back in action until facing Leeds on February 9 as the English top flight takes in a winter break.

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