Aston Villa told Carlos Espi transfer latest after social media hints

Aston Villa are central to surprise links with Levante star Carlos Espi.

The Villans appear to be in the market for a new forward ready for the new Premier League season.

Ollie Watkins has been linked with an exit, as covered by Villa News, while Tammy Abraham could face an uncertain future.

They could leave the door open for a new number nine to come in and take up a role at Villa Park.

That has sparked interest in various options already, but Espi has emerged as the latest.

The Spaniard looks set to be on the move this summer as we round up the latest from Levante.

Where have the Carlos Espi links come from?

There haven't truly been many links to new forward options in B6 this summer.

The idea was to always bring in a winger and Alejandro Garnacho has come in to fill that void.

Another wide option may come in, but a true number nine wasn't seemingly on the table.

That has changed somewhat after Matteo Moretto reported on Sunday that Espi is "on his way to the Premier League".

That has prompted links to Villa Park from various sources, while he also appears to be of interest to Ipswich Town and various sides in Italy.

It is currently unclear where the 21-year-old is going to land, but his social media activity may or may not provide a hint.

Espi already has a link to Aston Villa

There aren't necessarily concrete links to the 2005-born forward, but he has may have pointed towards his next steps.

That comes as Espi already follows Aston Villa on Instagram.

The claret and blue outfit are one of 1982 accounts followed by the striker, which is an ironic number given the ties to B6.

Although that has got many fans excited in the Midlands, there may be another reason behind it.

Espi featured for Levante alongside Villa's Andres Garcia for many years and the duo are clearly friends.

There is every chance that the number nine has followed the Villans on social media to simply keep up to date with his mate's team.

There is no evidence of either factor being true, but it certainly makes for an interesting situation.