Porto’s highly-rated defender Abdoulaye Ba is a loan target for Aston Villa and Southampton, according to the Daily Mail.
The 22-year-old Senegal international has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs this summer and Porto are thought to be willing to let him leave Portugal in a loan deal worth at least £400,000.
And it is now thought that the Premier League duo have both lodged bids to bring the defender to England before the transfer window closes next week.
However, the Portuguese giants may change their mind if Eliaquim Managala is the subject of a late bid from Chelsea, who are reported to be lining up a move for the defender.
Ba was a member of Senegal’s under-23 squad that faced Great Britain in the London 2012 Olympic Games, while he has been capped four times by the Senegal national team.
Paul Lambert has been busy strengthening his Aston Villa squad this summer with no less than six new faces arriving at Villa Park, as he desperately tries to improve on Villa’s relegation-threatened campaign last term.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochetttino has splashed out almost £35million on new recruits during this transfer window, including £13million on Roma’s Pablo Osvaldo and £12.7million on Celtic’s Victor Wanyama.
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