Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe is a major transfer target for Aston Villa this summer and they have already had a bid turned down by the Gunners for the 20-year-old. Earlier this month, Villa made a £25m bid for Smith-Rowe and it was swiftly rejected.

The latest media reports claimed that Aston Villa are set to make an increased bid for their transfer target. English publication Football Insider revealed that Villa are ready to offer £30m for Smith-Rowe. The expectation is that Arsenal will turn down the second bid just like they did with thefirst offer with the club keen to tie the England junior international to a new deal.

Arsenal midfielder Smith-Rowe has two years left on his current deal at the Emirates Stadium and the Gunners are keen to hand him a contract extension until the summer of 2026. It is expected that both parties would agree to a new five-year deal as reported by various media outlets.

Smith-Rowe is one of the best young players at Arsenal alongside the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka and the Gunners don’t plan to sell him. He was not a regular in the first team until the end of last year when Gunners boss Mikel Arteta introduced him into the starting XI ahead of the London Derby clash with Chelsea at home. His introduction into the starting XI led to an upturn in form for the better. Smith-Rowe was one of the first names on the Arsenal team list from the encounter with the Blues until the end of the season.

Smith-Rowe stayed in the Arsenal XI despite the loan signing of another creative midfielder in Martin Odegaard from Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid. The young Englishman scored four goals and provided six assists in 33 games for Arsenal last season.