Report: Aston Villa wanted to sign 'unplayable' Arsenal youngster this summer but failed

After signing Lino Sousa from Arsenal in January, Aston Villa also considered taking another youngster from Unai Emery’s old club this summer.

Sousa decided it was time to move on from Mikel Arteta’s side to Villa, given he wasn’t receiving the first team chances he desired.

Upon signing for Villa, Emery and his team quickly decided to send Sousa on loan to Plymouth Argyle in the Championship – hoping to kick-start his senior career.

All in all, the left-back made eight appearances for Plymouth, who narrowly avoided relegation to League One.

It remains to be seen what Emery has planned for Sousa this season, but Championship clubs are again said to be interested in taking the 19-year-old on loan.

That being said, according to Standard Sport, Villa almost made another attempt to sign an Arsenal youngster this summer, Amario Cozier-Dubbery.

‘Unplayable‘ Cozier-Duberry was regarded as a big talent at Arsenal, a Hale-Ender envisioned for a role in the first team.

However, having let his contract expire, the 19-year-old has now signed for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Unai Emery wanted to take Arsenal youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry to Villa

Before Cozier-Duberry signed for the seaside club, Aston Villa were said to be one of several interested clubs.

According to the report mentioned, the Arsenal youngster has plenty of offers but chose to join Brighton, who are aiming to rival Manchester City in securing the best emerging talent across Europe.

Along with Villa, West Ham United, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic and Rangers were tracking Cozier-Duberry too.

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But it’s hard to disagree with the English winger’s choice on this occasion, given Brighton have offered such a successful platform to young talents of late.

It’s unlikely that Aston Villa were too invested in signing Cozier-Duberry, given they would have understood the level of competition for his signature.

And to that end, it seems like the club have already moved on, explaining why Villa are now in contact to sign Juventus’ Federico Chiesa.

And from Arsenal’s perspective, they’ll simply hope that they are not one day ruing the departure of the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly – the next two big talents to emerge from their rich academy.