Aston Villa on Matias Fernandez-Pardo World Cup scouting mission - he twice flopped vs Villans

Aston Villa are mulling over a move for Lille striker Matias Fernandez-Pardo, with initial contact between the two clubs made.

The 21-year-old has been with Lille since the summer of 2024, having joined the French outfit from Belgian side Gent.

Indeed, the young forward is currently in North America as part of Belgium's World Cup squad.

Fernandez-Pardo is a striker by trade, but can play on the left or right wing, and has scored 12 goals in 71 appearances for Lille.

With Unai Emery's side competing in the Champions League next season, bolstering their strength in depth is going to be a key priority for Aston Villa this summer.

And, with the growing possibility of Morgan Rogers leaving Villa Park, sharpening their cutting edge in attack is also undoubtedly on the agenda in B6 over the coming weeks.

Aston Villa scouting Matias Fernandez-Pardo at World Cup

The World Cup often acts as a stage for players to showcase their talents to clubs, with it common to see moves being made off the back of strong individual tournaments.

Indeed, whether a player is actively looking to put themself in the shop window or not, good performances will naturally catch the eye of teams anyway.

That could be the case with Fernandez-Pardo at this summer's World Cup, as the young Belgian striker hopes to go deep in the tournament with his nation.

As per journalist Sacha Tavolieri writing for Sky Sport in Switzerland, Aston Villa have sent scouts to watch Fernandez-Pardo at the tournament in North America.

It's claimed that Villa like his speed, physicality and runs in behind defenders, as well as being admirers of his finishing and versatility.

It's claimed that contact between Lille and Aston Villa has already been initiated, and his performances at the World Cup will go a long way towards Villa's final transfer decision on him.

No official bid is said to be on the table for the Belgian, but it's claimed that things could start moving fast if he starts to shine at the tournament.

Emery has already had first-hand look at Fernandez-Pardo

Indeed, when Aston Villa's scouts watch Fernandez-Pardo take the field at the World Cup, it won't be the first time the Villans have laid eyes on him.

On the way to their historic Europa League win last season, Villa met Lille in the round of 16, which they won by an aggregate score of 3-0.

Fernandez-Pardo, however, had to come off the Lille bench in both of those games, getting 38 minutes in the first leg and 24 in the second.

As per FotMob, he only registered one shot on goal over those two games as well as touching the ball a mere 24 times.

In that respect, he didn't appear to have put in displays that would've warranted him catching the eye of Villa chiefs, but evidently, he did.

His eight goals and five assists from 29 Ligue 1 outings in 2025-26 prove that there's player in there with plenty of potential, but he cuts a raw and unrefined attacking prospect at the moment.

Belgium's final two group stage games are against Iran at 8pm UK time on Sunday 21 June, and New Zealand at 4am UK time on Saturday 27 June respectively.