Aston Villa submit record-breaking offer for another Premier League forward after Jean Philippe-Mateta

Aston Villa have submitted a record-breaking offer for a Premier League striker after seeing Crystal Palace reject their bid for Jean-Philippe Mateta.

On Saturday, Villa began their league campaign disastrously as Unai Emery's decimated squad were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium.

The Villans have lost several of their most influential players this summer, including Morgan Rogers - who joined Chelsea in a British record £117 million transfer - as well as Lucas Digne, Donyell Malen, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa.

Ollie Watkins is also likely to leave the Champions League outfit before the September 1 deadline. Al Hilal are pushing to sign the England international after seeing four offers rejected - the most recent being a £45m bid - with another expected this week.

The 30-year-old missed Villa's abysmal defeat against the Seagulls after not training with the rest of the squad in the build-up to the match and, according to The Athletic, an apology was issued to his teammates at the training ground.

Emery has already admitted that Watkins could leave the club before the transfer window shuts, but only if a replacement can be found, and it appears they're edging closer to finding one.

Aston Villa saw a bid in the region of £20-25m rejected for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta on Tuesday morning, falling short of their valuation.

It's unclear whether Villa will return with a second approach for the 29-year-old, who scored 12 Premier League goals last term and helped fire Palace to the Europa Conference League.

Mateta is facing a conflict at the Eagles after it was revealed this week that he took the club to a Premier League tribunal last season to claim that the final 12 months of his contract were legally invalid, later escalating the issue to FIFA.

Aston Villa submit official £60m offer for Nicolas Jackson

Villa's desire to add forwards in the final week of the window is more pressing than ever, and Watkins' potential departure only reinforces the need to add more quality to their attack.

The Villans have initiated contact with AC Milan to sign winger Rafael Leao, who is pushing to leave the San Siro, while an offer has also been made to Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.

READ NEXT: Unai Emery demands Premier League rule change after Aston Villa thumped by Brighton in opening game

According to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, the offer placed on the table for the 25-year-old was £70m - made up of £60m including bonuses.

Earlier in the window, the Blues were demanding a bid of £65m, with Aouna stating that Chelsea are on the 'verge' of accepting Villa's proposal and will only need to agree on a contract with the Senegalese international.

Jackson has been told he can leave Stamford Bridge by Xabi Alonso after training away from the main group at Cobham, and was even omitted from the side that secured a 3-2 victory over Fulham on Monday Night Football.

Chelsea signed Jackson for £32m three years ago from Villarreal on a whopping eight-year contract after previously working under Emery at the Spanish side.

He has since scored a respectable 30 goals in 81 appearances for the Blues and was loaned to Bayern Munich last term. But it appears Jackson - who also has interest from Tottenham - has played his final game for Chelsea, as he closes in on what would be a record-breaking switch to Villa Park.

Aston Villa broke their transfer record earlier this summer with the £52m capture of Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, and a move for Jackson would topple that figure once more.