Recently called into Martin O’Neill’s 35-man preliminary Republic of Ireland squad, Aston Villa are rivalling Newcastle United for the signature of Dundalk’s Daryl Horgan, report ReadAstonVilla.com.
According to the story, Aston Villa scouts were present to watch Horgan’s Dundalk side lose out to Cork City in the FAI Cup Final at the weekend.
The 24-year-old winger is currently enjoying the best spell of his career, playing for the Irish side in the Europa League as well as now having achieved international recognition.
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce had been interested in landing Hearts defender John Souttar this January but with that deal looking unlikely, the Villans face an uphill battle to land Horgan too.
After all, competition for Horgan’s signature is extremely fierce with ReadAstonVilla.com’s report claiming that Ipswich Town, Reading and Preston North End are all interested in the Irishman, not to mention three clubs from Major League Soccer.
As for Newcastle United’s interest in Horgan, an earlier report from the Irish Independent claimed Rafael Benitez had also sent scouts to watch the winger in action this weekend.