Aston Villa agree fee for Tom Heaton

Aston Villa’s search for a new goalkeeper is finally over as their Premier League squad for the 19/20 season begins to take shape.

According to that oracle of Midlands sport, John Percy of The Telegraph, Aston Villa have managed to agree a fair price for Tom Heaton of Burnley FC. Percy reports that the fee is in the region of £8,000,000. Add-ons could take this deal up to £8,500,000.

This comes after Burnley rejected a initial low-ball bid. This tactic has been a feature of Villa’s summer and has led to them escaping some massive fees. The negotiations are clearly working and Villa are ready to risk losing out on players - because they have already identified a number of targets for each position.

Heaton, a stalwart of Sean Dyche’s Burnley team over the years finds himself as somewhat of a victim of the Clarets’ luxury in depth at the position. Former England international Joe Hart and current England international Nick Pope are good enough, so why not cash in on Heaton? Heaton - Burnley’s best goalkeeper - is not getting any younger and sealing a deal of eight million pounds can be seen as fantastic business.

It’s not like Villa lose out, either. Heaton can remain a top-tier goalkeeper for the next few seasons and represents a calm and talented hand at the back of the defence. He’s exactly what Aston Villa need right now.

The ‘marvelous’ summer is set to continue though - Nakamba of Club Brugge will join in the coming days and Villa are still looking around for a striker.

It’s all coming together.