Aston Villa are pushing for top target Nicolas Jackson

Aston Villa are exploring the viability of a move to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea before the transfer window shuts.

Jackson is available for transfer this month, but Chelsea’s £60m-plus valuation of the striker is believed to be out of Villa’s reach because of financial restrictions.

That, however, has not stopped Villa examining whether they can structure a deal that would see Jackson reunite with manager Unai Emery, who is a big fan of the 24-year-old.

Villa potentially face competition from Italy for Jackson if they pursue a move, while Newcastle United have been linked with a late move for the Senegal international.

Despite selling Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle in a deal worth £43m and arranging a loan switch for Leon Bailey, Villa cannot spend big sums of money in the remaining weeks of the window.

The club have been exploring the possibility of re-signing Marco Asensio from Paris St-Germain and are looking at other potential opportunities to strengthen their attack – including Jackson, whose Chelsea wages in the region of £100,000-a-week would not be out of Villa’s reach.

Emery ideally wants to add another dimension to his attack with a player who can play alongside Ollie Watkins or in another position slightly behind him. Villa remain adamant that Watkins will not be sold to accommodate a new signing ahead of the transfer window closing.

It would seem that the only option available to Villa would be to make an offer to Chelsea to take Jackson on loan with an obligation or option to sign him permanently.

Chelsea have been adamant they do not want to send Jackson on loan, but the right structure might tempt them as time starts to run out in the transfer window.

Newcastle signed left-back Lewis Hall on loan with an obligation to sign him permanently and a similar deal for Jackson may yet be considered in the absence of immediate permanent offers.

Emery gave Jackson his big break at Villarreal and is understood to have remained a big admirer of the player, who has also spoken of his lasting affection for the Spaniard.

Source: Yahoosports