Report: Aston Villa want Said Benrahma with Smith given £100m to spend

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Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has been given £100 million to spend this summer, according to the Mirror (2/8; page 66), with Said Benrahma one of the names on his transfer wishlist.

Smith can now start preparations for the Villans’ second season back in the Premier League after they secured survival on the final day of this past campaign.

Villa endured mixed fortunes in the transfer market following their promotion from the Championship. But that has not put the board off backing the manager this summer.

The Mirror (2/8; page 66) reports that Smith is set to be given £100 million to spend in the market. And one of the players he wants to sign is Brentford’s Benrahma.

Smith, of course, knows Benrahma well from his spell at Griffin Park. The Englishman was in charge when the Algeria international arrived in the Championship.

And Sky Sports reported in 2019 that Smith has made several attempts to bring Benrahma to Villa Park ahead of last season. It was also claimed in the report that he was on the radar again heading into January.

So it will come as little surprise that the Villans are looking at the 24-year-old once again.

Of course, it may become much more difficult to land the forward should Brentford win the play-off final on Tuesday.

Benrahma recently told the Daily Mail that his dream would be to play in the top flight with the Bees. So should they see off Fulham at Wembley this week, Smith may be safe to assume that he is set for disappointment once again.