£50m midfielder linked with Newcastle now looks set to join rival Premier League club

Aston Villa are said to be in talks with Everton over a deal for 22-year-old midfielder previously linked to Newcastle United.

As Paul Mitchell and the Newcastle board plot their summer business up at Alnwick Castle this weekend, Aston Villa look close to beating the Magpies to the signing of Everton midfielder Amadou Onana.

Onana has been linked with Newcastle since as far back as October last year when he was touted as possible arrival to replace Sandro Tonali after he was handed his 10-month ban.

The Belgium international has continued to be linked to Newcastle going into the summer, but if any desire to sign him remains, it looks like it's going to be too late.

Aston Villa look set to nab Amadou Onana ahead of Newcastle

Sky Sports are reporting that Everton and Aston Villa are in talks over a £50million switch for Onana and the report reads as if it's close to being sewn up.

Even if Onana had been on Newcastle's radar, now that Paul Mitchell has arrived, it would make sense that the list of targets is likely to have changed and Onana may not have been on the list anymore.

Unai Emery seems to be on a mission to add options to his midfield as Villa are set to compete in the Champions League next season. The Villans have already brought in Ross Barkley from Luton Town and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus.

The need for a CDM seems to be more fan-driven

As for who Newcastle will turn to next, we imagine we'll start seeing more movement from next week following the conclusion of this weekends summit at Alnwick Castle.

A defensive midfielder, so far, seems to be more of a want from fans and media than anyone from the club, especially if Eddie Howe is to stick with the same system as we've been playing since his arrival.

However, Howe has often said about deploying different tactics depending on where he feels the team are. He set the team up to be more cautious when trying to ensure Premier League survival, then the following season was much more attacking. Due to all the injuries last season, Howe probably never got to play how he wanted as he wouldn't have had the personnel available to do so. So it's not impossible that we see a new set-up next season.