Aston Villa make contact for second extraordinary attacking signing after Marcus Rashford

Aston Villa have taken steps to secure a second extraordinary signing as they close in on a deal for Marcus Rashford.

Rashford has found himself out of favour at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim and was heavily linked with the likes of AC Milan, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.

However, the 27-year-old looks set to remain in the Premier League, with widespread reports claiming that Villa are close to agreeing a deal to take Rashford on loan.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the deal is now progressing to the final stages - with Rashford set to join on loan until June.

There are also discussions taking place about whether Villa will have the option to buy the England international permanently at the end of the season.

The surprise move for Rashford, which is supported by manager Unai Emery, comes after Villa agreed to sell Jhon Duran to Al Nassr for £64 million as well as loan out Emi Buendia to Bayer Leverkusen.

However, it appears as though the Midlands outfit are not stopping there with their January basis ahead of Monday's deadline. Foot Mercato say there is growing confidence that Paris Saint-Germain forward Marco Asensio could sign on loan for Villa.

The 29-year-old has courted interest from Real Sociedad and Galatasaray in recent times but Villa are in promising negotiations over a temporary deal for Asensio and an agreement is reported to be "getting closer".

Aston Villa are said to be nearing a deal for Marco Asensio. Image: Getty

However, it does look as though a move for Joao Felix will not be coming to fruition due to the aforementioned deals.

Villa are currently eighth in the Premier League and secured automatic qualification for the Champions League round of 16 with an impressive run that saw them claim 16 points from eight games.

Asensio has played 16 times in all competitions this season, scoring twice and registering four assists.

Villa were linked with Asensio once before when he was at Real Madrid but he ended up signing for PSG on a free transfer.

At one point the Spaniard looked set to be the next big player for Los Blancos and had an incredible goal catalogue.

However, he failed to become a regular at the Santiago Bernabeu and so moved to PSG, signing a three-year contract and winning Ligue One last season.