Donyell Malen is set to join Roma permanently after their qualification for the Europa League, with Aston Villa now pushing to sign his teammate.

Villa can seal Champions League spot with Liverpool win

Friday night at Villa Park is the biggest game in the club's recent Premier League history.

Beat Liverpool and Aston Villa will seal a return to the Champions League. Lose, and the final day becomes a nervy affair — particularly with Bournemouth lurking behind in sixth.

For Unai Emery's side, the stakes could not be higher.

And yet, five days beyond that, the stakes get even bigger.

The Europa League final against Freiburg in Istanbul on May 20 offers Villa a shot at their first European trophy since they lifted the European Cup in 1982.

Win it, and Champions League football is guaranteed regardless of what happens in the league, so make no mistake, this is the most significant fortnight the club has faced in over four decades.

Behind the scenes, the summer transfer planning is already well underway, and a significant new development has emerged in the last few hours.

Aston Villa push to sign Matias Soule 'in recent hours'

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Villa have intensified their pursuit of Roma winger Matias Soule 'in recent hours'.

The 23-year-old Argentine has caught the eye this season with six goals and five assists in Serie A, operating primarily from the right flank where his left foot, close control and ability to cut inside and create have drawn comparisons with Ángel Di María.

Villa's recruitment team have been tracking him for some time, but the push has accelerated sharply in the wake of another piece of business between the two clubs.

This is partly because Malen's permanent move to Roma has now been rubber-stamped.

The Dutch forward joined on loan from Villa in January with an option that would become an obligation if Roma qualified for European football.

Inter's Coppa Italia victory over Lazio this week guaranteed Roma at least Europa League football next season, triggering the clause. The fee is £21m on top of the £1m loan charge already paid, with Villa also securing a 10 per cent sell-on clause for any future transfer.

Malen will sign a four-year deal worth around £3.5m per season, tying him to the club until 2030.

That income has given Villa both the funds and the leverage to push for Soule.

La Gazzetta report that the club have stepped up their approach in the last few hours, with Roma understood to be open to a sale at around £34m — a figure that would generate a capital gain of approximately £21m for the Italian club, useful ammunition as they navigate their UEFA settlement agreement obligations.

Soule himself is said to be attracted by the prospect of a move to the Premier League.

According to the report, the Argentine is due to meet with Roma's ownership — led by vice-president Ryan Friedkin, who arrived at the club's Trigoria training ground this week — in the coming days to discuss his future. No decision has been made, but the direction of travel is clear.

Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini is reportedly already preparing for life without Soule, with West Ham's Crysencio Summerville, RB Leipzig's Antonio Nusa and Tottenham's Mathys Tel all identified as potential replacements.

That level of contingency planning suggests the club view a departure as more likely than not.

For Villa, Soule would represent exactly the kind of signing that could elevate the squad further. At 23, he is entering the most productive years of his career, and his creative output in Serie A this season has been impressive for a player who is still developing.

His ability to operate across the front line — as a right-winger, second striker or attacking midfielder — would give Emery valuable tactical flexibility.