Aston Villa open talks with West Ham over striker Sonny Perkins – report
Aston Villa have opened talks with West Ham United in a bid to sign their talented teenage attacker Sonny Perkins, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 18-year-old made three appearances for the Hammers during the 2021-22 season including in the Europa League group stage as Dinamo Zagreb won 1-0 at the London Stadium.
Steven Gerrard is keen to bring him to the Midlands and the club has begun negotiations with the Irons, Sky sports Italy journalist Romano said via his personal Twitter account but they face Premier League competition from Leeds United.
Perkins had a fabulous season for the West Ham youth sides in 2021-22 with 10 goals in 20appearances in Premier LEague 2 the highlight as he transitioned to Under-23s football.
He also bagged four in four for the Under-18s while also scoring twice for England Under-18s in six caps.
One for the future
With Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins at Villa Park, Gerrard is not pursuing the 18-year-old because he feels the need to have another striker in his senior side.
The aforementioned duo are more than good enough to lead the line for the Villans for a couple of years to come yet but there has to be a constant eye on the future which is what this transfer is all about.
Perkins would likely start for the Under-23s side but he has another young striker to compete with that could hamper his first-team chances with the Villa.
Cameron Archer is ahead of the teenager in his development having played and scored for the England Under-21s as well as enjoying a great second half of the 2021-22 campaign with Preston North End in the Championship.
As long as this move wouldn’t cost too much money in a summer where we are trying to improve the senior side, it should be something we go after, even if it never comes to fruition in the future.
In other Aston Villa news, the club are willing to listen to offers for four senior players as they look to clear out some of the deadwood to fund new additions.