Aston Villa finally won the race by signing Chelsea name-checked as clubs keen to sign £26m-rated…..

The competition is hotting up for Strasbourg full-back Guela Doue signature, with Aston Villa tipped as being on Chelsea’s tail among the front-runners to sign him.

After a shaky start, Unai Emery seems to be finding his groove this season, as Villa have now won five games on the bounce after their victory against Tottenham. Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring for the home side, before goals from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia sealed the win for the visitors. The victory means Villa jump to 11th in the table and are no longer struggling for goals.

The Buendia goal was described by Shay Given as ‘world class’, after the Argentine slotted the ball past Guglielmo Vicario in the Spurs net. Matty Cash and Lucas Digne also had a huge part to play in the goal and have both been in good form this season. Despite this, Emery has his eye on a full back from Ligue 1, but has competition from Premier League rivals.

Strasbourg’s Doue has attracted attention from club’s all across Europe after his strong start to life in french top-flight this season. Chelsea currently lead the race to sign the highly-rated £26m full back, however according to Caught Offside, Villa are also in the hunt. Brentford and Brighton have also shown interest.

The 23-year old has been a dependable figure at the back for Strasbourg, who currently sit in the Champions League places of the Ligue 1 table, just one point behind last season’s treble winners, Paris Saint Germain. The Blue and Whites played out a draw with the European Champions on Friday night, with Doue being one of their star men.

It isn’t just English club’s on the hunt for Doue’s signature, as RB Leipzig, AC Milan and Real Betis all believe the full back would be a good fit for their respective squads. Despite this, Chelsea look as if they’re the front runners, due to their superior financial resources and ‘ambitious sporting project.’

Doue’s reliability at the back would make him an asset to any team in Europe. He also has a good record going forward, already registering a goal and two assists already this season after just five games. However, with Matty Cash in fine form, perhaps the Frenchman could create a healthy competition for places at Villa Park.

The Polish full back has came into his own recently has also been in fine attacking from for both club and country. Back up right-backs, Andres Garcia and Kosta Nedeljkovic have also shown potential in a claret and blue jersey.

If Villa were to sign Doue, they would presumably want to have it done by January, however with Strasbourg’s current reluctance to sell the youngster, they may have to wait until the summer of 2026.