Gary Neville rates Tottenham star in £100m bracket as Aston Villa plans for summer signing No 9 implode

Aston Villa have seen their hopes of a big-money raid on Tottenham Hotspur for Dejan Kulusevski go up in smoke after Ange Postecoglou reached a very firm decision on the Swede and despite Gary Neville’s claims of just how much they could bank by selling the star.

Unai Emery’s side pipped Tottenham to the fourth and final Champions League spot last season and are gearing up for what they hope will be amother massive season of progress at Villa Park. Indeed, despite being forced to sell Douglas Luiz to Juventus to help comply with the Premier League’s strict Profit and Sustainability Rules, Aston Villa have shown they are ready to spend big this summer as they look to make a major impact in Europe’s premier competition.

To that end, Villa have wasted no time at all strengthening their squad, sealing eight signings already with Amadou Onana (£50m from Everton) and Ian Maatsen (£36.5m from Chelsea) the headline additions, alongside the returns of three familar faces in Jaden Philogene, Cameron Archer and Ross Barkley.

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However, Villa appear far from done and, with Moussa Diaby pushing to seal a £50m transfer to Al-Ittihad, Emery and president of football operations, Monchi, are in the market for a top-class wing replacement.

That has led Villa towards the signing of explosive Tottenham star Kulusevski, who has been linked with a move away from N17 this summer in the wake of their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Kulusevski, a €30m (£25.5m) signing from Juventus, initially on loan, in January 2022, has scored 15 times in 95 appearances for the Lilywhites so far.

Postecoglou makes decision on Tottenham sale of Kulusevski

On his day, the 39-times capped Sweden winger is one of the best around.

And while he has shown inconsistency at Spurs, he remains one of the first names on Ange Postecoglou’s team sheet, appearing 39 times last season in all competitions.

Despite that, Kulusesvki has been linked with an exit this summer with Napoli – and former boss Antonio Conte – keen on a reunion on the Amalfi coast.

And while Napoli do have money to spend, the sort of money Tottenham would be asking would surely place the 24-year-old out of their price range, unless they decided to cash in on their other star winger in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

As far as an asking price is concerned, Neville claims Spurs have in Kulusevski a player who, on his day, is one of the best around and worth in the £80m to £100m bracket.

Speaking last season when Kulusevski shone during a win at Nottingham Forest in which the player stood in for James Maddison playing in the No 10 role, Neville told Sky Sports: “Players that play in that role, that take it on the back foot and accept it on the back foot, the attacking midfielders, the No 10s, any player of that ilk, they’re very rare to be able to do that.

“What we’ve seen in the last few weeks is him playing that role and become one of the rare players.

“You’re talking about him going from a player who might be £50m on the right to being something that if he gets going in that No 10 position, can be really special and then you’re pushing it to an £80m or £100m player.”

Aston Villa told to forget any chance of Spurs transfer raid

Despite such lofty valuations, one side who could potentially afford a move is Villa and more so if the sale of Diaby goes through.

However, TEAMtalk understands that Postecoglou has made it clear that the club needs to retain Kulusevski at all costs and that under no circumstances should they consider his sale, with the player seen as a vital cog in his system going forwards.

And while a possible player exchange deal has been mooted, potentially involving Jacob Ramsey moving in the opposite direction, Postecoglou would rather seemingly prefer to pursue the Villa midfielder in a separate deal, as opposed including the stylish Swede as part of any swap.

Former Aston Villa scout Bryan King also doubts whether Spurs would allow their star man to depart and least of all not to a side who will likely be competition once again in the race for a Champions League place.

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“That transfer link surprises me,” King told astonvillanews.

“I’m not sure if Spurs would be prepared to let him go, but if they did, he would add quality to that right-hand side for Villa.

“It would also add some much-needed depth to the squad for Emery as he looks to compete in the UEFA Champions League with Villa next season.

“However, I do struggle to see that transfer going through, to be honest.”

Despite that, Kulusevski will face competition for his shirt next season after Brennan Johnson’s impressive form so far in pre-season, and with Postecoglou convinced that competition for places can only bring out the best in his players.