Brentford and Crystal Palace could hand windfall to Birmingham City as Aston Villa eye £40m Juventus duo

Former Birmingham City midfielder Jobe Bellingham could reportedly hand is old club an unexpected transfer windfall this summer.

The former Blues academy product was at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night as he watched older brother Jude becoming a Champions League winner with Real Madrid. The England international played for 85 minutes as goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior helped the La Liga giants to a 2-0 victory against Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund.

As it stands, Bellingham Junior will return to pre-season training with Sunderland next month and is believed to be a big part of the plans at the Stadium of Light, no matter who is named as permanent successor to former Aston Villa assistant manager Michael Beale this summer. However, there are now reports suggesting the 18-year-old midfielder and Sunderland team-mate Jack Clarke are the subject of interest from Premier League clubs ahead of the opening of the summer transfer window.

The Daily Mail have suggested Brentford and Premier League newcomers Southampton are both keen on a move for former Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United winger Clarke - but it is Brentford and Crystal Palace’s reported chase for Bellingham that will peak the interest of Birmingham and their supporters. The report reveals the Blues negotiated a 15 percent sell-on clause when the midfielder joined the Black Cats last summer and suggestions both Premier League clubs are willing to pay upwards of £15m to land the midfielder means his old club could be in for an unexpected windfall ahead of the summer transfer window.

Villa plan shock £40m raid on Serie A giants

Aston Villa are reportedly keen to complete a £40m double deal that would see Unai Emery add two Juventus stars to his Champions League-bound squad.

The former Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain boss is currently assessing his options in the transfer market as he prepares to lead Villa into European football’s premier club competition for the first time since 1983. Italian news outlet Gazzetta dello Sport have claimed Villa are ‘intent on shopping in Italy’ and are ready to offer Douglas Luiz to Juventus and secure deals for Bianconeri duo Matias Soule and Weston McKennie.

Argentina Under-20 international Soule has just completed a season-long loan deal with Juve’s Serie A rivals Frosinone as they suffered relegation from Italian football’s top tier - although the winger did impress with 11 goals and three assists in 39 across the campaign. He has been linked with several Premier League clubs including Newcastle United and Crystal Palace - but it is Villa that are said to be keen to complete a £24m move for the winger and also secured a £16m deal for former Leeds United flop McKennie. The United States midfielder made 20 appearances for the Whites during a half-season loan at Elland Road - but made little impact as Leeds suffered relegation from the Premier League in May 2023.