Exclusive: Aston Villa Target Brentford Hotshot Igor Thiago in January Move

Aston Villa are lining up a January transfer swoop for Brentford hotshot Igor Thiago, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

But our sources have learnt that the Bees will do everything in their power to keep the Premier League’s second highest scorer at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brazilian hitman Thiago has been nothing short of a revelation for the West London club this season, scoring 14 goals in 20 games to help the Bees fly high in seventh position in the top-flight.

And yesterday the 24-year-old bag a brilliant hat-trick as the Bees claimed a fine 4-2 away win over Everton to maintain their impressive form.

They are now unbeaten in their last four games and have won nine and drawn three of their 20 Premier League games so far this season.

In all, Thiago has netted 15 goals in 21 games in all competitions this season, hence the Bees’ reluctance to sell him.

However, Villa, who are flying high in second place in the standings and pushing hard for a Champions League place next season, are hungry to bolster their strike force as they look to finish the season with a flourish.

Villa have also sent scouts to the Africa Cup of Nations to monitor Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, but his January prospects have been thrown into doubt after he suffered an injury in their last fixture that is set to rule him out for the remainder of AFCON.

SPEARHEADING

England international Morgan Rogers has been spearheading their attack this season, with seven goals and four assists, while Ollie Watkins has also scored seven.

But Villa boss Unai Emery is understood to want to add further firepower to the club’s ranks as they continue to push Arsenal at the top of the table and, respectively, surprise many this season with their lofty position at just over the halfway stage of the domestic campaign.

Thiago has ambitions to play himself into Brazil’s World Cup squad next simmer despite having not won an international cap previously.

The Bees signed him for a club-record £30million from Club Bruges on a five-year deal in February 2024.

But with just 26 Premier League games under his belt, Villa are now trying to prize him away and tempt him with a move to the Midlands.