Aston Villa will be desperate to keep hold of Douglas Luiz this summer after the 26-year-old played a standout role in securing Champions League football with a top-four Premier League finish.
The Brazilian has grown into one of English football's most talented and robust central midfielders over the past few years and perhaps it's only natural that the vultures have started circling.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are all watching Luiz, though it is Juventus who currently hold the lead in the race to sign the Villan, so CalcioMercato state.
Unai Emery will be determined to keep his star, but should he leave, an exciting and talented prospect has already been identified.
Aston Villa eyeing Douglas Luiz replacement
According to Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Aston Villa have received a huge boost in their bid to sign Schalke's Assan Ouedraogo, with Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich deciding not to sign their long-time top target.
Ouedraogo has a £12m release clause in his contract but it must be activated by a certain point in June, and thus Emery will need to decide quickly to move ahead in the race and secure a talented new cog for the machine.
It would appear as though the midfield is a key area of focus this summer. Ross Barkley is set to sine while the Villans are also particularly keen on adding Conor Gallagher to their ranks, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.
Ouedraogo, however, could prove to be a fine alternative to the Chelsea and England star.
Why Villa are interested in Assan Ouedraogo
Schalke finished tenth in the German Bundesliga 2. as their dramatic decline continues, though there's no question that Ouedraogo, who is 18 years old, remains the shining light of their demise – lauded as "frightening" by data analyst Ben Mattinson…
The German midfielder is imposing and athletically blessed, and while at a glance he might appear a defensive midfielder, he is actually far more dynamic, making loping runs across the centre of the park to progress the play and find openings for his teammates.
In the league this term, as per Sofascore, Ouedraogo only featured 17 times and started on just nine of those occasions, but he did score three goals and supply one assist, invariably impressing with his youthful avidity.
It's also important to note that he spent a large portion of the campaign on the sidelines with a syndesmotic ligament tear, precluding his chances of enjoying the breakout year fitting for a prospect of his calibre.
He also averaged 1.8 dribbles and 4.3 successful duels per match, advertising budding ball-carrying expertise and a combative approach to his football that is something inborn. He is tenacious and that core quality lies at the centre of his style.
As per FBref, the teenager ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across divisions similar to the Bundesliga 2. for goals scored and successful take-ons and the top 12% for shot-creating actions and progressive carries per 90.
His prodigious strength and technical quality suggest that he has all the tools to become a leading figure in the Premier League, and he would certainly find the perfect foundation to build from at Villa Park.
How Ouedraogo compares to Douglas Luiz
Moreover, he really does offer the perfect mould to succeed Luiz, who posted ten goals and ten assists across all competitions this season and is also a complete and expressive midfielder sometimes pigeonholed as a defensive midfielder. This is not the case.
He ranks among the top 16% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 17% for shot-creating actions and the top 20% for passes attempted per 90.
Luiz is certainly a player with sharp and effective qualities at the base of the engine room but he is also a crisp and inventive distributor, a commanding leader and an intelligent orchestrator when his team surges forward en masse.
Matches played
35
Matches started
35
Goals
9
Assists
5
Pass completion
89%
Big chances created
10
Key passes per game
1.5
Dribbles per game
0.7
Ball recoveries per game
5.3
Tackles per game
1.7
Duels won per game
4.2
Clearly, when examining Luiz's metrics from the recently concluded campaign, it's hardly a bold call to suggest that Ouedraogo has some work to do before he is performing at the Aston Villa stalwart's level, but the Schalke star is scarcely into adulthood and has so much potential.
Having only started nine fixtures in the German second division this season, he wouldn't arrive in England's West Midlands with the expectation to tear a path right through to the upper echelon of Emery's talented squad, but he could be moulded into such a phenom over the course of several years – impressing right through.
Scout Jacek Kulig dubbed Ouedraogo a "talented" young player, though perhaps that is a colossal understatement. Here is a player with the signs of something special, rooting his name in an auspicious light throughout this maiden stage in stark contrast to that of his outfit.
But it's clear that to maximise his lofty potential, he must now search for pastures new. Villa, now that Bayern are out of proceedings, will be confident that they can hand him that launchpad.
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