Report: Aston Villa and Newcastle eye Fenerbahce defender Attila Szalai

By Will Butcher

Hungarian site Blikk claim Aston Villa and Newcastle United have joined the race to sign Fenerbahce defender Attila Szalai, with Leicester City already said to be considering a move for the Hungarian ace – rated at £21.5million.

Szalai, 23, joined Fenerbahce in the January window and has only clocked up 16 appearances for Fener – already turning the heads of onlooking scouts from the Premier League. He has previously played in Hungary and Cyprus.

The 6ft 4in defender has even established himself as a regular in his country’s side – and that has attracted interest from Aston Villa, Newcastle and Leicester. They face competition from Italian giants Napoli and Lazio.

It is claimed that any interested parties will have to part with a whopping £21.5million to sign Szalai this summer, a figure likely to be seen as quite expensive for a player that is really yet to test himself in one of Europe’s best leagues.

(Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

TBR’s view – Expensive fee for unproven talent

But the likes of Leicester have shown in recent seasons that you need to back your faith in a player’s quality, rather than his experience. Wesley Fofana, for example, was bought for a hefty price despite only a handful of games.

However, Fofana has turned out to be one of the signings of the season. So, if anyone is to know that spending on a bit of a risk is worth it, Leicester do. What benefits Szalai is that he is still very young, with the world at his feet.

(Photo by Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)