Sevilla to rival Aston Villa for Marseille midfielder Maxime Lopez?

Aston Villa reportedly face competition from Sevilla in the race to sign Marseille midfielder Maxime Lopez.

Despite qualifying for next season's Champions League, the French giants are required to make player sales due to the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic.

With just over a year left on his contract, Lopez could be sold by the Ligue 1 outfit during the next transfer window.

Although Villa are one of the favourites to sign the 22-year-old, Estadio Deportivo claims that Sevilla have identified the player as one of their priority transfer targets.

The report says that the La Liga side regard Lopez as a long-term replacement for Ever Banega, who is expected to leave the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

Marseille may look to recoup in the region of £10m for Lopez.