Aston Villa are targeting Club Brugge left-back Joaquin Seys as manager Unai Emery looks to further strengthen his defensive options ahead of a Champions League return.
According to The Sun, Villa have made a formal enquiry into the availability of the 21-year-old Belgian, who impressed significantly during the 2025/26 season.
Club Brugge are holding out for a fee of around €35m, equivalent to approximately £30m, before they will consider parting with the highly-rated youngster.
Villa are not alone in their admiration, with Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United also having made approaches for the versatile defender.
Portuguese clubs Benfica and FC Porto are also monitoring Seys closely, meaning Villa face a competitive race if they are to secure his signature.
Those at Villa Park believe Seys would bring genuine Champions League quality to Emery’s squad as the club prepares for a return to European football’s elite competition.
Seys made 13 appearances in the Champions League last season, starting 12 of those games and accumulating over 1,000 minutes of European football for Brugge.
He also chipped in with three goals and three assists in those matches, with two of his goals coming in a 6-0 victory over Rangers during the qualification stage.
His performances were enough to earn him a place in Belgium’s 2026 World Cup squad, underlining just how highly he is regarded at international level.
Seys has accumulated close to 100 senior appearances for Club Brugge and has the versatility to operate at right-back as well, which would give Emery the option to use him as cover for Matty Cash.
Villa already appear to be closing in on Atletico Madrid left-back Matteo Ruggeri, 24, who only moved to Diego Simeone’s side from Atalanta last summer, as a replacement for Lucas Digne.
Digne, 33, has departed Villa Park after completing a return to Paris Saint-Germain, with PSG activating a release clause reportedly worth around £7m to bring him back to the Parc des Princes.
The French club signed Digne more than a decade after he originally left PSG for Roma, ending his four-and-a-half-year stay at Villa Park.
Ruggeri is said to be on course to sign a four-year deal at Villa Park, providing a notable reduction in the age profile of Emery’s defensive unit compared to Digne.
Should Villa succeed in landing both Ruggeri and Seys, Emery could have Maatsen, Ruggeri, and Seys all competing for places on the left side of his defence heading into the new campaign.