Aston Villa want to sign Ben Mee on free transfer from Burnley – report
Aston Villa are among the front-runners to sign Ben Mee from Burnley on a free transfer this summer, according to The Mirror [June 2].
Mee has spent 11 years at Turf Moor but is expected to leave the club when his contract expires next month following the club’s relegation to the Championship in the 2021/22 campaign.
And the 32-year-old is now believed to be on the radar of several Premier League clubs including Everton and Aston Villa, who the Mirror say are leading the race to get a deal done for his services.
Mee missed the last eight games of the season after suffering a broken leg against Leicester, but should be fit to feature in pre-season and at the start of the season for his new club.
Villa had previously been linked with a move for his defensive partner James Tarkowski on a free transfer, but pulled out of that deal after completing the signing of Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
Weird
This is a deal that doesn’t seem to make much sense for anyone other than Mee, so it’s most likely going to be agent chat at this point.
Gerrard added Carlos to his squad and already has Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Kourtney Hause and Calum Chambers as centre-back options at the club.
While it’s possible that one or two could be set for an exit, it would be odd to bring in a 32-year-old who has just been relegated over some of the options he already has at his disposal.
Mee will want to play regularly, not sit on the bench, and it’s arguable if he is good enough to start in this side especially when you consider how Gerrard likes to play with a relatively high line too.
It’s an odd link but on a free transfer with Premier League experience, it’s possible that Gerrard wants to inject some more leadership and is one to watch out for as the window continues.
In other Aston Villa news, Gerrard has identified an alternative option at left-back to compete with Lucas Digne