Aston Villa, along with Midlands rivals Birmingham City and West Brom, have been linked with a move for Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper, Football League World report.
The Lowdown: Cooper profiled
Cooper is just 21 years of age and has already made 68 senior appearances for Argyle. Nine of those have come this season, with the shot-stopper keeping five clean sheets in Plymouth’s impressive start to the campaign.
Manager Ryan Lowe has hailed Cooper, claiming he has ‘quality in abundance’ and is ‘going to the top’.
Cooper is represented by Unique Sports Management, the same agency as Villa’s Jacob Ramsey, and has just under three years remaining on his Home Park deal.
The Latest: Villa links
Football League World shared a story on Thursday morning regarding Cooper. They were informed by a source that a number of clubs, including Villa, are keeping tabs on the ‘keeper.
Villa’s Premier League rivals, Brentford and Southampton, along with Championship sides Birmingham City, Coventry City, Sheffield United and West Brom have also been credited with an interest.
The Verdict: Shrewd target?
Villa have just two senior goalkeepers on the books in Emiliano Martinez and Jed Steer after failing to replace Tom Heaton over the summer.
So, bringing in Cooper could help Villa when it comes to solving their long-term goalkeeping plans.
Cooper is clearly highly thought of amongst a plethora of teams in the top two divisions, so Villa winning the race for his services and then potentially loaning him back to Argyle could be a smart call.
In other news: ‘Worst player at our football club’ – Many AVFC fans slam ‘mess’ who lost the ball 13x v Chelsea.