Paul Lambert is keeping tabs on Chadli.
FC Twente winger Nacer Chadli has been targeted by a host of clubs this summer including Tottenham and Liverpool, but now Aston Villa have entered the race for the Belgian, reports the Mirror.
Manager Paul Lambert is hoping that by bringing Chadli to Villa Park, in-demand striker Christian Benteke will be convinced to stay at the club as the pair are national team-mates.
Lambert faces a tough task to land the 23-year-old however with Premier League clubs of the calibre of the Reds and Spurs also keeping an eye on the Belgium international.
Chadli was in fine form last season, scoring 16 goals for Twente as the club finished sixth in the Eredivisie.
Although the Belgian was mostly deployed as a winger last campaign, Lambert sees the former Standard Liege youth player as the ideal man to operate in the gap behind Benteke.
However, to sanction such a move the Scot must offload some of Villa’s unwanted big-earners – most prominently Shay Given, Stephen Ireland and Darren Bent.
Therefore Lambert will be hoping an expected transfer of Bent to Newcastle United goes through as the 43-year-old can then redistribute the striker’s wages.
The Villans have wasted no time this summer in rebuilding the squad following a disappointing season in 2012/13 that saw the Birmingham side battling for most of the year against relegation.
Lambert has recruited six new players already since the end of last campaign and spending just shy of £11m in the process.
In the same vein unwanted veterans such as Richard Dunne and Jean II Makoun have left the club after not being offered new contracts.
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