Manchester United centre-back Jonny Evans' exit at Old Trafford seems to be coming soon and Aston Villa showed great interest joining strong contenders Everton and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the Belfast-native.
Evans played only 198 games for United including 27 appearances last season and only 19 this year.
The 27-year-old has also been out of Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal's radar as he favors younger centre-backs Paddy McNair (20) and Tyler Blackett (21), according to HITC Sports.
Reports say Evans will likely join Everton with Villa who has a £10million bid being considered the weakest in the race.
If Villa successfully lands Evans, he will be replacing Ron Vlaar who still has an undecided future with the club.
In a report by the Daily Star, Villa will be offering Evans regular first-team football and will make an offer once the transfer window opens this June.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke already confimed that he wants to leave for a club playing in Europe, the Daily Mirror reported.
Benteke still has two years remaining in his deal with Villa and a £32.5million release clause.
"My agent knows my ambition. It's about [my agent]. He knows what I want and I'll let him do the job. I don't think about Aston Villa now," the 24-year-old said according to the Daily Mirror.
Benteke has a total of 101 appearances for Villas scoring 49 goals which includes 12 goals in the final three months of the season after returning from an Achilles injury.
Two years after filing a transfer request to be moved to Tottenham, Benteke wants no more controversy and will just wait on clubs that are interested in him, the Daily Mirror reported.
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood said they cannot prevent Benteke from leaving because of the buyout clause in his but he added, "But someone's got to meet that buy-out clause and if they don't it won't be considered, because we don't want to lose him."
