Aston Villa are chasing the £50k-p/w forward Thierry Henry

Aston Villa have made contact with them in an attempt to poach a Premier League striker this summer as they look for Ollie Watkins, it has emerged.

Aston Villa are busy ahead of the new season

Unai Emery's side have been one of the busiest in the Premier League since securing their place in the Champions League for the 2024/25 campaign, with plenty of business inside and outside the Midlands club.

Eight new faces arrived at Villa Park, led by Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen, but there were also significant departures. Douglas Luiz joined Juventus in a £43m deal, while the club also cashed in on Moussa Diaby just 12 months after arriving in the heart of the country, joining Al-Ittihad in a £50m deal.

There could be more moves, as Diego Carlos has been told he could find a new club, and West Ham are locked in talks over striker John Duran. The Colombian striker is expected to leave the club this summer amid previous interest from Chelsea, although talks with the Hammers have reportedly stalled and led to Julen Lopetegui's side exploring deals for other targets.

Should Duran leave, Villa will be in the market for a replacement for Ollie Watkins, who scored 19 Premier League goals last season. Now, they seem to be testing a deal for that.

That comes with one report revealing that Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has been placed on Villa's list of potential strikers.

The French forward enjoyed a fine finish to the 2023-24 campaign, becoming only the second French player to net in seven consecutive Premier League home games after Thierry Henry, who he worked with in the summer as part of France's Olympic squad.

The Premier League star was also quick to praise his offense, hailing him as a throw-in striker.

“He is an old striker, he can play slowly. He can keep the ball,” Henry explained. “He's a boring striker to play with, he doesn't lose the ball too much, and he goes to the last defender.

“He uses his body, he is good with his head and he scores goals. It's important that a striker like that gives you another level.”

But the striker has two years left on his current £50,000-a-week deal at Selhurst Park, and has yet to agree new terms amid a desire to play Champions League football. According to the Daily Express, Villa are ready to offer him that and although negotiations have not yet progressed, the Villans have “communicated” with Mateta's camp.

It was added that they were considering a bid to “test the waters in the coming weeks”, although no fee for the striker was mentioned. If he can continue his good form from the second half of the 23/24 campaign, he could prove a more than capable backup to Ollie Watkins.