Aston Villa remain interested in Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, according to a report.

TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook has told GiveMeSport he believes Aston Villa remain interested in Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe, having previously attempted to sign the midfielder in 2021.

At the time, Smith Rowe’s contract situation wasn’t entirely clear, and Villa decided to test Arsenal’s resolve with offers of £25m and £30m.

The Gunners quickly shut both bids down, announcing a new contract for the England international not long afterwards.

But Villa’s interest hasn’t waned since then, and they’d still seemingly be up for a move if Arsenal made Smith Rowe available.

Unai Emery’s Villa aren’t the only club watching Smith Rowe’s situation, with The Athletic recently reporting that Newcastle United have tracked the player long term.

Initially, The Athletic’s David Ornstein had reported in October that he wasn’t aware of Newcastle pursuing the Arsenal man, and he didn’t know of any contact between the parties involved.

But that appeared to change as the January transfer window drew closer.

Smith Rowe was also linked with West Ham United in October, and one report put Aston Villa in the race as well.

Smith Rowe suffered an injury keeping him out for the entirety of November and the start of December as well, which probably cooled any genuine interest in him.

Though he has now returned to the pitch, he’s played less than 20 minutes of football across his four appearances in all competitions since then.