Aston Villa and Newcastle Set to Battle for Lyon Captain Corentin Tolisso

Aston Villa and Newcastle United are among a number of clubs chasing Lyon’s Corentin Tolisso, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal. 

The French ace has been on fire this season with 11 goals and two assists across Ligue 1 and the Europa League.

And that has attracted the attention of a number of clubs across Europe.

It is understood Lyon would want at least €30million to tempt them to part company with the central midfielder.

Our sources understand both Villa, who have tracked his progress in the Europa League this term, and the Magpies are interested in the former France international.

Tottenham Hotspur are also understood to be keen on the player, but a lack of European football would make a move to north London difficult.

Aged 31, Tolisso still have a number of quality years ahead of him. 

He has left France before, when he secured a life-changing switch to Bayern Munich, before returning to Lyon, where he is captain. 

Newcastle are understood to be weighing up potential replacements for captain Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, who have been linked with big-money moves away from St James’ Park.

And there is interest on the continent with Borussia Dortmund interested in taking the Lyon star back to Germany.

Atlético Madrid have also expressed their eagerness in recent week.

Tolisso may not be the only Lyon midfielder heading for the Premier League this summer, with Czech star Pavel Šulc also attracting interest from Leeds United, Everton, and West Ham United, SportsBoom understands.

Hometown Hero

Tolisso will have a year remaining on his current deal at boyhood club Lyon in the summer.

Having come through the ranks at the club, he scored 29 goals in 160 appearances during his initial spell.

That earned him a whopping €41.5million move to Bayern Munich, at the time a record transfer fee for a German club, in 2017.

He scored 21 goals in 118 games for the German giants, but returned to Lyon on a five-year deal when his contract expired in 2021.