Aston Villa linked with Austrian teenager Luca Weinhandl ahead of January window

Aston Villa are reportedly keeping tabs on Sturm Graz midfielder Luca Weinhandl, according to TEAMtalk. The publication states that Arsenal and Brighton are also interested in the 17-year-old ahead of the January transfer window.

The outlet claims representatives from several Premier League clubs have attended recent Sturm Graz matches, including fixtures against Rapid Wien and LASK, to assess the teenager. TEAMtalk suggests a package in the region of £20m could be sufficient to land the player when the market reopens in 2027.

Weinhandl is described as a box-to-box midfielder standing at 6ft 3in who has featured for Sturm Graz in both the Austrian Bundesliga and the Europa League. He was part of the Austria squad that reached the Under-17 World Cup final.

According to the report, the youngster chose to remain in Austria over the summer rather than force a transfer, despite attention from clubs in Germany, Italy and France. VfB Stuttgart are named among those who previously enquired about him.

Sturm Graz do not face any urgent financial need to cash in on their academy product, TEAMtalk adds, though the club is said to be realistic about the likelihood of a departure eventually materialising given his rapid progress.

With the summer window having closed on 1 September, no Premier League side can complete a signing until 1 January 2027. Any pursuit of Weinhandl by Villa would therefore be a long-term project rather than an immediate addition to Unai Emery's squad.