An update has emerged on Aston Villa and their plans to bolster their defensive options ahead of the 2023/24 campaign…
What's the latest on Thomas Meunier to Aston Villa?
German outlet BILD have reported that the Villans are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Borussia Dortmund right-back Thomas Meunier in the summer transfer window.
It is claimed that Serie A giants AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan are among the other teams pursuing a deal to snap up the Belgian international in the coming weeks.
BILD states that the Bundesliga outfit are willing to part ways with the full-back for a fee in the region of €3m (£2.6m) as he has one year left on his current contract and is not in the manager's plans for next season.
Would Thomas Meunier be a good signing for Aston Villa?
Meunier, who European football expert Zach Lowy dubbed a "big name" in the right-back market, could be an excellent addition to Unai Emery's squad as the experienced campaigner could be the dream heir to Ashley Young's position in the team.
The club confirmed in May that the former England international will be leaving upon the expiry of his contract at the end of June and that came as a blow to the head coach as the 37-year-old had started 23 Premier League matches last term.
Young averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.86 across 29 league appearances and contributed with 1.7 tackles, 0.7 interceptions and 0.5 key passes per match for his side. Those statistics may not look too impressive but his rating placed him as the club's eighth-based player while only Matty Cash of defenders in the squad made more successful tackles per match.
It paints the picture that this is a valued member of the squad and as such, a quick replacement must be sourced. Villa could now land the perfect heir by bringing in Meunier to compete with Cash for the starting berth at right-back.
The Dortmund enforcer has made over 400 career club appearances and been capped 62 times by Belgium at international level, which illustrates the experience that he would be bringing to Villa Park.
Meunier only started seven league matches in 22/23 but did showcase his ability across 17 Bundesliga starts in the previous campaign.
Compared to Young, he averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 and caught the eye with 2.4 tackles and interceptions and 0.9 key passes per game, whilst the Belgian ace also created eight 'big chances' for his teammates. For context, that would put him on a par with Villa's best chance creator, Jacob Ramsey, who also supplied eight last term.
As such, it's evident that Meunier would make for an upgrade on what Young offered Villa last season in terms of his average performance level and creativity from right-back.
The veteran defender, who Dortmund sporting director Michael Zor claimed makes "few mistakes", also averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.05 or higher across all four of his seasons with Paris Saint-Germain earlier in his career.
These statistics suggest that the £165k-per-week gem could be the dream heir to Young's place in the squad as he is an experienced right-back who has a history of being able to produce excellent performances in multiple major European leagues when given regular game time.