Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma, talkSPORT understands.
Suzuki’s move to the Midlands to potentially replace Emiliano Martinez between the sticks is worth a total package of £34.2million.
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Villa will fork out an initial £30m, with £4.2m to be paid in potential add-ons.
Japan international Suzuki will sign a five-year contract at Villa Park after agreeing on personal terms.
talkSPORT exclusively revealed on Saturday that talks had advanced between Aston Villa and Italian side Parma after a proposed transfer to Paris Saint-Germain collapsed.
Unai Emery’s push to sign Suzuki has come after Juventus revived their interest in Martinez.
Will Suzuki replace Martinez at Villa?
Juventus have made an £8.5m package offer to sign Martinez from Aston Villa this summer, continuing their summer-long pursuit.
The Serie A giants were interested in signing the Argentinian goalkeeper before the World Cup began.
Martinez had told Villa that he wanted to leave and join Juve in June, but director of football Damian Vidagany shut that down.
They have now come back in for their man though, making a fresh bid split into a £6m fixed fee plus £2.5m in add-ons.
It’s understood that Villa want the full £8.5m up front, while Martinez is likely to have to take a wage cut.
However, there is optimism that a deal can be struck for the 33-year-old to make the move to Italy – despite caution from the Old Lady regarding Martinez’s broken finger.
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And the imminent arrival of Suzuki could well make a departure more likely for the two-time Best FIFA Men’s goalkeeper.
Suzuki’s career so far
Suzuki is set to leave Parma after spending the last two years with the club, playing 57 times in Serie A.
His impressive performances have attracted interest from European giants for some time, with Manchester United looking at signing him as a replacement for Andre Onana last summer.
That switch didn’t happen though, and the Japanese shot-stopper remained in Italy for another year.
Since then, he has starred for his nation at the World Cup, starting all four of Japan’s games in North America.
Suzuki, who was born in the USA but grew up in Japan, began his professional career with J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds.
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He spent a season on loan at Sint-Truiden in 2023 and eventually joined them permanently a year later – but just a few months after that, Parma swooped in to sign him for a reported £8.5m.
Now, the 6’3″ keeper is on his way to England and the Premier League, having played 59 games in Italy and 28 matches for Japan.
