Everton, Aston Villa target Christian Atsu loan

Christian Atsu had a fairly impressive World Cup, and his reward looks like it'll be a fairly high-level loan. There have been rumours that his signature is being chased by several Premier League clubs, and today the Mail has given a face to said clubs: Everton and Aston Villa are on the prowl.

Both make some sense. Aston Villa are basically in need of competent footballers to put near Christian Benteke, meaning Atsu definitely fits the bill, while Everton have some rather specific holes to fill. With Gerard Delofeu back to Barcelona, the Toffees need an impact winger, and Atsu's play with the Black Stars, which saw him terrorise a series of unfortunate left backs in the group stages, means that he should fit the bill.

The Mail note that an Atsu loan would prevent Everton coming in for Romelu Lukaku on anything but a permanent deal -- Premier League sides can't take multiple players on loan from another Premier League team -- but I don't think that piece of calculus is a very big deal. If they do go in for the striker, it'll be for good.

But right now we're talking about Atsu, and I have to say I'd be reasonably happy with either option presented here. It'd be a huge step up from Vitesse Arnhem for the youngster, but he deserves a shot and if he's willing to take the risk that he's not ready yet, so be it.