Aston Villa could reportedly abandon their plans to sign Marco Asensio on a permanent basis and recruit a six-time Premier League winner instead this summer.
Asensio moved to Villa Park in the January transfer window on loan from Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the season after falling down the pecking order at Parc des Princes.
The 29-year-old made an electric start to life under Unai Emery, scoring eight goals and providing one assists across seven matches between the end of February and beginning of April.
Asensio continues to feature regularly in Villa's first team, although he has failed to contribute to a single goal in his last seven appearances across all competitions.
It has previously been suggested that Villa would be open to signing Asensio on a permanent deal, with the Daily Mail claiming that PSG would be willing to let the Spaniard leave for a fee between £15m and £20m this summer.
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Asensio out, De Bruyne in at Aston Villa?
However, according to Football Insider, Aston Villa are now exploring a blockbuster deal for legendary playmaker Kevin De Bruyne as an alternative to signing Asensio permanently.
The report adds that Villa could abandon their option to sign Asensio as they believe that recruiting De Bruyne on a free transfer could be a 'better deal' than forking out a fee and wages on the former.
It is thought that Asensio is earning in excess of £8m per year on his current PSG contract, a figure that he could demand to join Villa, while the prospect of missing out on the Champions League next season may complicate matters.
De Bruyne would also likely demand a significant salary, though, and is currently pocketing around £400,000 per week at Man City, but he will be available for free this summer when he brings the curtain down on his glittering 10-year career at the Etihad Stadium.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history, and although Man City have decided against offering him a new contract, he still believes that he has more to offer at the highest level.
De Bruyne has refused to rule out joining another Premier League team, but his next destination is yet to be decided, with clubs in MLS and the Saudi Pro League also keeping tabs on his situation.
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The playmaker, a two-time Premier League Player of the Season, has recorded 107 goals and 177 assists in 417 appearances for Man City across all competitions, with only Ryan Giggs (162) having assisted more goals than the Belgian (119) in PL history.
In recent seasons, De Bruyne has struggled with injuries and in the current campaign has been reduced to 16 Premier League starts and eight substitute outings for Pep Guardiola's side, chipping in with three goals and seven assists.
Big summer ahead for Emery and Villa?
Aston Villa will likely take De Bruyne's injury history into consideration when weighing up a pursuit for his signature, while their transfer strategy could be reassessed depending on the futures of other first-team players.
Indeed, Villa have a decision to make over the future of Marcus Rashford, who is currently on loan from Manchester United and a £40m option to buy is understood to have been included in his deal.
Meanwhile, Morgan Rogers has recently been linked with a big-money exit amid interest from clubs including Chelsea and Bayern Munich, although Villa would ideally like to keep hold of the star attacker.
Oliver Thomas
