Aston Villa and Fulham now racing to sign “top” striker with 14 goals in 2026-27

Aston Villa and Fulham have now entered the race to sign a striker, having both made disappointing starts to the Premier League season.

In fairness, Villa are showing signs they could now be up and running, having picked up a 3-2 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prior to the international break, while a 1-1 draw against Manchester United for the Cottagers is nothing to sniff at.

However, Unai Emery‘s side remain 16th in the table, having taken just five points from their first five matches, and the west Londoners are down in 19th place, with Alvaro Arbeloa collecting two points, in draws against Man United and Liverpool.

Emery was always going to find it difficult to adjust this season, having lost a number of key players in the summer, including Ollie Watkins, who became the Villans’ greatest-ever Premier League goalscorer after finding the net on 91 occasions across six seasons.

Nicolas Jackson was brought in as a replacement for Watkins, and the former Chelsea man scored his first Premier League goal for the club in the 3-2 victory at Tottenham, but a new striker is in NSWE’s thinking ahead of future transfer windows.

Aston Villa enter contention to sign Vangelis Pavlidis

According to a report from Caught Offside, Aston Villa are showing interest in signing Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis, but there could be competition from rival Premier League clubs, with Fulham and Tottenham also among the potential suitors.

However, the Greek marksman is protected by a release clause of €100m (£85m), so it may take a mega bid to tempt the Portuguese side into a sale, and there is interest from the likes of Barcelona and Juventus.

It is no surprise the 27-year-old has attracted attention from some top clubs, considering he has been on fire in front of goal this season, scoring 14 goals in his opening 13 matches for Benfica, while also grabbing three assists.

Como scout Ben Mattinson has described the 61-cap Greece international as a “top” striker, but he was unable to get on the scoresheet for his country across four matches during the current international break.

Regardless, the Benfica forward’s goalscoring record at club level speaks for itself, and journalist Neal Gardner has suggested he is a far better player than Sporting CP striker Luis Suarez.

In truth, Villa may not need to sign another new striker, after bringing in Jackson during the summer, but Pavlidis could be an excellent option for Fulham, especially considering Gonzalo Garcia and Rodrigo Muniz have just one goal between them in the Premier League this season.