Aston Villa have reportedly received an enquiry from Nottingham Forest over talented youngster Lamare Bogarde.
The 20-year-old joined us from Feyenoord’s youth set-up in 2020, and he has since gone on to impress at youth level for us as well as during loan stints at Bristol Rovers.
In turn, the Dutch youngster is regarded as one of the top talents at the club, and as with any Academy product, it’s always hoped that they’re eventually good enough to make a breakthrough at senior level.
However, as per Fabrizio Romano, it appears as though Villa face an important decision on Bogarde’s future this summer, as Nottingham Forest have made an approach to sign him, and while it’s suggested that it could take around €4m to seal a deal, it remains to be seen if the player himself is keen on the switch.
Given the likelihood that Bogarde will struggle to stake a claim in the senior squad and play regularly at Villa, it could be argued that an exit would be beneficial for all concerned.
Forest would get a top talent for the future, Bogarde could have more opportunities to play and impress, while Villa would receive another significant fee on an academy player to continue to help balance our books with PSR in mind.
It comes after Tim Iroegbunam’s departure was confirmed this weekend as he joined Everton in a reported £9m move, while Omari Kellyman is said to be on the verge of a £19m switch to Chelsea, as per Romano.
As noted above, the preference is to see our young players go on to have a successful career with us at the top level, but the strategy and importance of this approach from Villa is crucial to our financial position and PSR concerns.
We saw it last summer with the sales of Cameron Archer, Jaden Philogene and Aaron Ramsey, and we’re seeing it again this year as we’re using our homegrown talent to balance our books and allow us to bring in reinforcements.
Time will tell if Bogarde and Kellyman are the latest to move on, but evidently it will be a key strategy moving forward as we continue to try to identify and sell on top young players for a profit.
