Aston Villa remain in talks for Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur

The Uruguay international is now the club’s primary midfield target with Villa optimistic they can prise him away from the Italian giants for a fee of under £20million.

But discussions have been made more complicated by a sell-on clause inserted in the £8m deal which saw Bentancur join Juventus from Boca Juniors in 2017. The Argentine club are thought to be entitled to around 33 per cent of any profit from a sale.

Villa’s scouts watched Bentancur in action on Sunday night as he played 89 minutes of Juventus’ 0-0 draw at AC Milan. The 24-year-old has now travelled to South America ahead of Uruguay’s World Cup qualifiers later this week but that will not hinder the completion of any transfer.

Boss Steven Gerrard would also like to recruit a centre-back before next Monday’s deadline, while several of the club’s academy players are set to be loaned out.

Striker Cameron Archer yesterday completed a move to Preston for the rest of the season, while teenage midfielder Arjan Raikhy is expected to join National League Grimsby.

Another young prospect, left-back Ben Chrisene, has signed a new long-term contract after turning 18 earlier this month.

“This contract will hopefully give Ben the platform to work towards that transition of becoming a first-team player,” said Villa academy boss Mark Harrison.