Explained: Where Aston Villa stand in efforts to sign Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson
Villa are trying to persuade Chelsea to lower their loan fee demands as they pursue a move for Nicolas Jackson before the transfer deadline.
Unai Emery is eager to be reunited with the forward who he previously managed at Villarreal but the deal is a tough one for Villa to pull-off.
A permanent transfer is a non-starter with Chelsea demanding a fee of £60million for the 24-year-old.
But it is understood a loan move will also be tricky, with the London club currently asking for a hefty one-off payment if Jackson is to leave for the season.
Villa remain in contact with Chelsea, in the hope the price will reduce the closer it gets to the September 1 deadline.
Bayern Munich and Newcastle are among the other clubs monitoring Jackson’s situation.
Emery and his recruitment team have been operating under considerable financial restrictions throughout the summer, as they seek to avoid any further breaches of Uefa’s fair play rules.
Villa, who will compete in this season’s Europa League, were fined £9.5million last month having previously gone over the spending limits and have entered into a settlement agreement with the governing body which must be followed to avoid further punishment.
Forward Evann Guessand, who arrived for an initial £23.5million from Nice, has been their one “big money” buy but the summer has otherwise been a story of outgoings.
Jacob Ramsey joined Newcastle for an initial £39m, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden also moving to Coventry in a £5m deal.
Philippe Coutinho, Leander Dendoncker and Kortney Hause have all departed, with winger Leon Bailey one of several to head out on loan.
Left-back Alex Moreno is expected to complete a free transfer to Girona on Friday.
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