Toulouse striker Andre-Pierre Gignac is reportedly a target for Aston Villa.

 

The 24-year old - top scorer in Lique 1 with 21 goals - has recently made his international bow and is on the list of potential additions to Martin O’Neill’s squad which fell just short of Champions League qualification this season.

Gignac has insisted that his admiration of English football does not indicated an immediate move across the Channel and he continues to maintain that he will be a Toulouse player next season. However, the potential financial incentives for both club and player for a deal to be done may well outweigh sound-bites in the press.

Retiring defender Martin Laursen has said that his long and ultimately losing battle with a knee injury was not the main factor behind Villa’s slip from the Champions League spots. He wouldn’t expand on his thoughts but maintained that the club was still on the up and the squad was good enough to compete with the best. "I’m very optimistic," he said. "There’s so many young and talented players here and Aston Villa have a manager with big visions who really wants to make big things. They also have a chairman who is not only involved economically but also physically. There are so many things for me that look like they’re going to be good."