Villa close to signing Abraham from Besiktas

Tammy Abraham’s £18 million deal with Besiktas is on the verge of being completed.

After visiting the UK, the 28-year-old is scheduled to make his move to Villa Park over the weekend.

Unai Emery has been making Abraham his top priority, especially with regard to Donyell Malen’s sale to Roma last week, who has been looking for additional firepower to support Ollie Watkins.

Besiktas signed the England international from Roma last summer while the club was required to pay for its acquisition if certain goals were met.

The Turkish side’s option to purchase for around £12 million is thought to have been activated, leaving Villa to pay the transfer fee.

Yasin Ozcan, who has been on loan at Anderlecht, will join Besiktas from Villa, according to reports in Turkey.

Roberto Olabe, the head of football operations at Villa, flew to Turkey to watch Abraham play as Besiktas defeated Kayserispor 1-0 on Monday.

Under Jose Mourinho’s management, Abraham signed for Roma for £34 million in August 2021.

He scored nine goals in 13 appearances for Roma and was a key part in their 2021-22 Conference League victory.

After being fired in January 2024, Mourinho was let out to AC Milan the following year, but the forward slipped down the hierarchy.

In his first season in the league, he became the highest English goal scorer in a single Serie A campaign with 17 league goals.

Only two Englishmen have scored more goals than Abraham’s 29 in serie A, according to David Platt (31), and Gerry Hitchens (58).