AC Milan make contact over potential Clement Lenglet transfer as Aston Villa stance emerges

AC Milan have made contact over the potential January signing of Clement Lenglet and the French defender wants to leave Aston Villa, according to Calciomercato.

The Italian outlet reported on its website on Saturday (20 January) that discussions have taken place over a potential deal, but two big issues remain in place to prevent the Italian giants from securing the Villa centre-back's services.

Lenglet's high wages are believed to be an issue for Milan and Unai Emery is also keen to keep the 28-year-old at Villa Park for the remainder of the season and these two "knots" make a deal very difficult to complete.

Contact made

Just a few months ago it seemed as though it was almost a given that Lenglet would depart Aston Villa when the January transfer window opened as a result of his lack of Premier League action during the first part of his loan spell in England.

But over the festive period, injury to Pau Torres saw the 28-year-old finally integrated into Emery's team and he has impressed ever since with strong performances against the likes of Aston Villa, Manchester United and Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.

With European football still to come in the second half of the campaign, Emery and Villa are going to need strength in depth and it would be a huge blow to lose Lenglet at such a crucial stage of the season, especially with Tyrone Mings out for the season.

Hopefully, the knots present in Milan's potential deal will remain in place for the remainder of the transfer window and Emery will be able to keep Lenglet in England for the remainder of the season at least.

In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has been left delighted by an "absolutely ideal" update involving John McGinn at Villa Park

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