Aston Villa target Porto star as possible Rashford replacement

Aston Villa have set their eyes on FC Porto‘s star striker Samu Aghehowa amid uncertainty surrounding Marcus Rashford’s future at the club.

Villa are being linked with one of Europe’s top young strikers as an alternative for Rashford should Ruben Amorim or the player decide to give it another chance.

Per reports from The Sun, Villa are showing interest in Samu, who has scored 24 goals for Porto this season.

The Spanish talent joined the Portuguese club last summer from Atletico Madrid, and indications are that an offer of £50m could be enough to convince Porto in the summer.

Villa are showing interest in Samu, who has scored 24 goals for Porto this season(Image credit: Getty Images)

Villa are thought to be ready to strengthen the attacking areas of their squad next season, with doubts over Rashford and even Ollie Watkins, with the latter being linked with a move to Arsenal.

Rashford has seen his form take a positive turn after moving from Manchester United on loan to Villa in January.

The England forward has a £40m buy option, but there are far from any guarantees that Villa will trigger it, with Rashford reported to prefer the idea of joining Barcelona.

The Clarets and Blue are also concerned about meeting his sky-high wage demands after his parent club has covered a sizeable chunk of that salary since January.

Despite his resurging form, Unai Emery’s side’s interest in Samu as a cheaper alternative could be an indication that Villa are preparing to look elsewhere.

The striker, previously known as Samu Omorodion, was close to joining Chelsea last summer.

Chelsea almost completed a £35m deal with Atletico Madrid, but the Blues were not satisfied with the outcome of a medical assessment, prompting the transfer to fall through. Porto then offered the player a deal instead.

Villa needs to make a final decision on Rashford, whether to retain him at the option price or not.

However, allowing the 27-year-old English international to return to United offers even more room for Villa’s transfer department to chase after others they want to strengthen up front.