According to Gazeta Sporturilor, Aston Villa are battling Borussia Dortmund for Darius Olaru. The Gaz Metan forward has been a regular in the Romanian Liga 1 this season, scoring and creating four goals in 16 appearances, but he’s only made one assist since August. Villa have better players in his position too, so it’s hard to see the Midlands club going all out to procure his signature.
With Jack Grealish, Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane for competition, why would Smith bring Olaru to England? The 20-year-old is still a raw talent and hasn’t shown much of a goal output in recent months, so there’s no guarantee he would impress in the Championship. Olaru is expected to represent Romania at the U21 European Championships next summer and could use the tournament to prove his worth to suitors. Villa and Dortmund will be watching.
The forward’s representative Arcadie Zaporojanu revealed Villa had made enquiries about Olaru but were yet to make an official offer. He said: “I was in England. I gave Aston Villa a few references about him, figures and everything they needed. So far they have not made an official offer to Gaz Metan, they want to get as much information, see matches with him and make a clear idea.”
FCSB are another club keen on his signature and came close to procuring his signature, but they had not met his release clause so a deal never went through.
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